With the fall semester officially underway, we are excited to welcome new and returning students to campus and to welcome many new faculty and staff into the Rubenstein School. I am also taking on something new, having just stepped into the Interim Dean position on August 1, 2022. So, like many members of our community, I have been working hard to get my bearings and am preparing for a year of continuous learning. I am grateful to the entire Rubenstein School for their advice and encouragement so far.

For those who I have not yet met: I earned my Bachelor of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from UVM in 1983 and returned to the University as an Assistant Professor in the Rubenstein School in 1999. Since then, I have gone on to become a tenured Professor in the School, conducting research, mentoring students, and serving as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development from 2011 to 2019. Over the past 23 years I have watched the Rubenstein School grow immensely in both size and impact. I am honored to now take on this position of Interim Dean and to continue the School’s legacy of centering equity, environmental sustainability, and innovation.

The 2022/2023 academic year is historic for the Rubenstein School as we welcome the largest and most competitive first year class yet. Over 290 Rubenstein students joined us in the Aiken Center on move-in weekend for our orientation programming. We’re thrilled to have so many new environmental leaders joining our community, and we’re especially grateful to the new and veteran members of our Student Services team for ensuring an excellent advising experience for all our new students.  

In addition to staffing up administrative and student support teams across the School, we are also welcoming new faculty, that will help to deliver our rigorous curriculum to the expanded student body. This fall we are excited to have lecturers Ariana Chiapella and Dan Erickson as well as Forest Manager Jess Wikle take on new teaching roles, and we’re eager to share announcements about additional incoming faculty for our Spring 2023 semester.

I am also excited to announce two program developments in the Rubenstein School. Our new non-residential PhD program—Transdisciplinary Leadership & Creativity for Sustainability—has launched, and we just admitted our first four students to the program. This will be the first humanities PhD program at UVM. We have also made a significant change to our Natural Resources major. As of this summer, our Natural Resources undergraduate program has a new name: Sustainability, Ecology and Policy. This shift in title was proposed to reflect the content of the program and its associated concentrations more accurately. The curriculum offers students an opportunity to shape their studies as they examine the intersection of human and environmental systems.

At the Rubenstein School, we pride ourselves on our dedication to experiential learning, interdisciplinary research, and environmental justice. Over the summer we shared stories on our website and social media channels from faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates across these three themes. As the environmental problems and injustices we face intensify, we can only tackle them through collaborative, holistic approaches, which our community demonstrates every day.  

I am inspired by the creative energy that students, scholars, and staff bring to the Rubenstein School, and I can’t wait to see where this year takes us. We know that there will be bumps along the way, so I will relay the wise words of my colleague and friend Marie Vea, Assistant Dean for Student Services and Staff Development: “show up, ask, and be kind to each other!”

Please stop by the Aiken Center to say hello, I look forward to learning alongside you.

Sincerely,

Allan Strong, Interim Dean and Professor