Let me begin by thanking everyone who contributed to its development. This was truly a community-driven effort, with every facet of our program offering ideas and constructive feedback while the plan took form.
Based on your feedback about the draft plan that was shared college-wide in April, we distilled the plan down to five initiatives (16 strategic objectives), strengthened the ideas and progress measures, and assigned leaders to each initiative.
We will immediately begin to execute the plan. The timeline for completion is the end of the 2024 spring semester. Progress updates will be shared with the Administrative Council (which includes the Faculty Council) and posted to forward.eng.ufl.edu.
Please know that while we could not address every (granular) suggestion, we did consolidate ideas into more generalized objectives. If you feel that something was not adequately captured, don’t hesitate to reach out to the respective initiative leader listed in the plan. Everything that you shared was provided to them. If we find it necessary to refine or expand the plan, we’ll make updates and redistribute the revised version (hence the addition of Version 1.0 to the title page).
Our community was involved in every step of its development. Departments, major institutes/centers (IC), and other convening bodies were engaged to develop ideas. We held open discussions for faculty and staff in the dean’s office and created an online ‘suggestion box’ for individuals to provide feedback outside of group settings. Many of you also reached out directly to me to share your thoughts.
After completing this ‘discovery’ phase, we held a full-day retreat of the Administrative Council* to recast the 110 ideas we received into six initiatives. Collectively they are defined by 18 strategic objectives + accompanying actions and progress measures to ensure the plan is executed in a timely and transparent manner.
We would now kindly ask you to carefully review the draft document and to provide your candid thoughts on how well this plan will serve us during the interval leading up to naming the permanent dean (nominally one year). Please send your comments to me at dean@eng.ufl.edu by no later than Wednesday, April 26. We aim to publish and begin executing on the final plan by early May.
Producing a comprehensive, community-authored plan in such a short turnaround time speaks volumes about our commitment to excellence and to supporting each other. We are immensely grateful for your help – thank you!
With warm regards, Forrest
*Comprised of the deans, chairs, IC leaders, and the chair and secretary of the Faculty Council
As you may know, the university administration asked me to take a hiatus from my duties at UF Research to lead the College until the 13th permanent dean is named. It is a tremendous and unexpected honor to serve you again, and I look forward to our amazing journey ahead.
I would like to begin by recognizing the 12th Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Dr. Cammy Abernathy. Her visionary leadership so elevated our programs’ impact and profile that she will no doubt one day be remembered as one of the most influential figures in the College’s entire history. A true leader, she demonstrated courage and principle regardless of the situation, who was involved, or any personal toll incurred. Her many accomplishments include growing the College to its largest size ever, leading a commitment to diversity and inclusion that has resulted in the most diverse faculty body of any engineering college among the public AAUs, as well as establishing the Department of Engineering Education and the Engineering Leadership and Innovation Institutes. Please join me in thanking Dr. Abernathy for 13 years of incredible service to our community.
Thanks to all our efforts, including that of the prior College leadership, we are the most successful we have been in our 110+ year history. We are picking up speed and are on track to ascend even higher. Today I am reaching out to share this administration’s resolutecommitment to propel the College forward and up during this transition interval. Let me unequivocally assure you that we will charge ahead with new, community-driven initiatives while progress on current goals continues apace.
In that spirit, we are now calling upon the departments, institutes and centers, the Faculty Council, and other convening bodies within the College to bring their faculty and staff together to discuss long-term aspirations, short-term objectives, and how they might inform our strategic actions through spring 2024. All ideas will be considered; however, each group should prioritize up to three key objectives and propose how to achieve them. We also welcome you to suggest ideas or register for a small group town hall hosted by me at forward.eng.ufl.edu—a new website we will also use to keep you apprised of the latest developments during the transition interval.
Consider this exercise as your platform to be bold and transformative, an opportunity to think forward. Although we will plan for the short term, we can use this interval to put in motion medium-to-long term initiatives. Opportunities to forge or strengthen partnerships with other Colleges (e.g., joint educational programs or core facilities), service functions (e.g., online education, lifelong learning), and external entities (e.g., industry and fed. lab partnerships) are strongly encouraged. Please also consider how we can better leverage service to our broad professional communities to advance the recognition of our research, educational activities, and other scholarly duties.Ideas will be gathered during the next six weeks.
In late February, the Administrative Council—i.e., deans, chairs of departments and the Faculty Council, directors of institutes and our school—will convene during a full-day retreat to craft a community-authored strategy statement from this input. In March, we will share the draft statement for feedback before finalizing it by end of the month. We will begin executing our strategic goals immediately thereafter.
While the planning process is underway, we will also make every effort to further strengthen and streamline College operations. Two of the most pressing needs raised by our community will be met immediately. First, we will create more bandwidth for our facilities team by adding a new project manager to free the current director to primarily focus on large projects such as the impending moves related to the opening of Malachowsky Hall and the $40M renovation of the Chemical Engineering Building. Departments will also be allowed to work with the University’s Planning, Design, and Construction for small jobs. Second, I will begin working closely with our marketing and communications team to shape and execute a vibrant and cohesive vision to elevate our reputation, brand, and reach.Expect to hear more updates on these and other fronts, as we engage staff, faculty, and other users of College services to find ways to optimize workflow, reduce administrative burden, and cultivate the best possible working environment.
Wishing you and yours health and prosperity in 2023!
Forrest Masters, PhD, PE
Interim Dean, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering