UBC is pleased to announce that, on the recommendation of Interim President Martha Piper, the Board of Governors has approved the extension of appointment of Dr. John Innes as Dean of the Faculty of Forestry for a second term, commencing July 1, 2016, until June 30, 2021.
Under Dr. Innes’ leadership, the Faculty has made outstanding achievements in student learning, which saw, for example, the creation of a new undergraduate program in Urban Forestry and three new professional Master’s programs in Sustainable Forest Management, International Forestry, and Geomatics and Environmental Management; and more than a tripling of the number of co-op placements. With a commitment to student learning and experience, the Dean undertook external program reviews (the first of their kind at UBC) and created the position of Student Development Officer, devoted to enhancing student life.
Internationalization efforts have raised the Faculty’s global profile as a leader in forestry education, through increase in international students, faculty, and educational and research opportunities. The Dean has also fostered engagement with Indigenous communities in BC and the Yukon, with student coursework now including projects with First Nations communities; hosting discussions, such as the “International Indigenous Peoples’ Roundtable on Forests and Climate Change”; and establishing the Faculty as the lead academic partner in the Haida Gwaii Higher Education Initiative.
The Dean has encouraged diversification of the Faculty’s research portfolio as a means of overcoming declines in the traditional sources of funding. Close cooperation has been built with the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation, and this is now generating research projects focused primarily on Asia. Several international conferences have been hosted by the Faculty in the past 6 years, raising its profile nationally and internationally. The appointment last year of an Associate Dean for Research is resulting in a more formal and coordinated approach to research in the faculty.
We are sure the next few years will see the Faculty continue to build its strengths under Dr. Innes’ leadership, and are looking forward to working with him in his second term.
The Provost would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the Faculty for their involvement in the consultation during the process for consideration of the extension of the Dean’s appointment. The Provost would also like to thank members of the President’s Advisory Committee for their time and commitment, and their deliberations that culminated in the recommendation to the President that the appointment of Dr. Innes be extended.