I believe progress on both activities is crucial to attaining the common vision we hold.
Today, I wish to discuss various aspects of both activities with you.

We recognize that organizations are sustainable when they involve the entire community and when our culture promotes innovation, communication, accountability, and recognition.

Programs are sustainable when various disciplines (e.g., economics, environmental, ecological, and social) are contributing in a meaningful and integrated fashion to our research, teaching and outreach programs. As with natural systems, diversity contributes to a more robust system with is more sustainable.

We face challenges in achieving the preeminence suggested in our vision:

Deanship -

We await President McCormick's Charting Directions Committee Report that was due December 1, 2001. Hopefully, it will identify a clear path for us to follow in the near term.

Academic Purpose -

Using the unifying concepts of environmental and resource sustainability, we have embarked on a transformation of the College. This requires a shift in how we package and deliver educational material to our clients and how our programs will be funded.

We must think more holistically and adopt a more integrated view; we must recognize the competing environmental, social and economic demands of society and devise new ways to resolve resource conflicts; and we must continue to search for new knowledge and to provide information to decision makers.

In our meeting with the Provost in mid-December he challenged us to define the academic basis of sustainability.

A number of you responded to my request to form a study group to address this issue and we will hold our first meeting shortly.

We recognize that sustainability must permeate all College programs:

We also recognize that sustainability may be viewed as a balanced condition to achieve and maintain. But, I believe we also need to view sustainability as means (process) that will stimulate us to investigate new research challenges that arise as we begin to manage natural resource systems in new ways that balance environmental, economic and social factors. This synthesis will, I believe, uncover exciting interdisciplinary intersections that will promote new research opportunities.

Simultaneously, I believe we should continue to conduct basic research into a variety of biological, social and economic areas.

The on-going transformation of our undergraduate curriculum is a further illustration of this synthesis. The EFC and CPC will be discussing progress with you later this month.

Budget -

We face an uncertain future with respect to our state funding.

Since the 1993-95 biennium, through the first half of the current biennium, our College has been asked to reduce its state budget by 13% (including the 3% UIF reductions).

We may be asked to make additional reductions for the second year of the biennium - but this is not yet known.

I will be asking the EFC to work with me to explore and evaluate options for reducing our state budget if we are required to do so.

If necessary, I will consider use of the RCEP process, which automatically involves the EFC.

Our Chairs are working with you to investigate the many options we have for moving programs to a self-sustaining basis (i.e., off the state budget) or a hybrid where a program is partially self-sufficient. Our outreach office is also working towards this end. We need to fully explore these possibilities.

I hope you join this effort. There are many options -- including evening courses and degrees, distance learning opportunities and day courses run through UWEO.

I have also initiated a quarterly meeting with all center and cooperative directors. Following our autumn meeting, I charged the New Initiatives Team with helping us to identify new research opportunities and to update our "fact" sheet series.

Past efforts of a similar new initiatives group within the College led to several success stories including the IGERT, CESU, ATI, and RTI programs.

Development Activities

The UW Capital Campaign has begun. The College wishes to raise at least $12 million dollars over the seven years of the campaign.

We are involved in the design and planning for rebuilding Merrill Hall at CUH. We desire to replace the basic building; include some needed enhancements; and build an environmental forum.

We will need private donations to bring this project to a successful conclusion.

We are cooperating with the Arboretum Foundation and the Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation to raise private donor funds to help finance their respective causes.

The College's Advisory Board is also being transformed so that it will be better positioned to help us envision our future within the University and Region.

The Denman Forestry Series (sponsored through the gift of Richard Denman) was inaugurated in 2000 and continues this month with the fourth event dealing with conservation trusts. A fifth event in the spring deals with conflict resolution.

Each College work unit has prepared a unit work plan that is supportive of, and consistent with, the vision of the College. These plans will guide us over the next six months.

Organizational Culture:

It is essential that we continue to focus on our core values:

Accessibility, Accountability,Communication,Inclusion, Consensus, Integration,Preeminence,Respect,Timeliness

Our staff has just begun a review and assessment of the Organizational Review Team's Report. New job descriptions are being finalized for all CFR positions.

Ways to recognize outstanding performance are also being discussed by the Work Place Quality Committee. Examples include the research showcase and annual recognition awards.

Mission

The College of Forest Resources is dedicated to generating and disseminating knowledge for the stewardship of natural and managed environments and the sustainable use of their products and services.

Vision

The College of Forest Resources will be the internationally recognized source for solutions to environmental and natural resource problems.

THREE-YEAR GOAL: Attract and retain the highest quality staff, students and faculty

SIX-MONTH OBJECTIVES:

1. On March 10, 2002, the Faculty will adopt the new undergraduate curriculum.

2. By March 15, 2002, the Workplace Quality Committee (Karen Russell-lead) will complete staff evaluation process and assessment of classifications and compensations.

3. By April 1, 2002, the CPC (Gordon Bradley-lead) and the EFC (Steve West-lead) will update the faculty portfolio and distribute it college-wide and on the web.

4. By April 15, 2002, the Recruitment Task Force (Michelle Trudeau-lead) will update, implementing the new undergraduate curriculum, and implement an Undergraduate Recruitment Plan to achieve 300 enrollees for Fall 2002.

SIX-MONTH OBJECTIVES:

1. By February 1, 2002, Dean Bruce Bare (lead), Bob Edmonds, Linda Kaye and Tom Hinckley will finalize the design of the building and the programmatic features of the Environmental Forum.

2. By March 15, 2002, the Space Committee (Bob Edmonds-lead) will complete assessment of CFR facilities and laboratories.

3. By May 15, 2002, the Merrill Hall Building Committee (Sue Nicol-lead), working with the architects and UW, will complete redesign of Merrill Hall.

SIX-MONTH OBJECTIVES:

1. By February 1, 2002, the CPC (Gordon Bradley-lead), with input from the College and the alumni (Rich Weiss-lead), will identify expectations of the CFR Dean and share with the UW Search Committee.

2. By March 15, 2002, the Workplace Quality Committee (Bruce Lippke and Susan Bolton co leads) will identify and develop leadership training strategies and present to the Dean.

3. By April 15, 2002, the EFC (Steve West-lead) will develop a plan to improve faculty involvement and use of faculty governance and distribute to the faculty.

4. By May 15, 2002, the EFC (Steve West-lead) and the CPC (Gordon Bradley-lead) will assess the Divisional structure and recommend changes, if any, to the faculty.

SIX-MONTH OBJECTIVES

1. By February 1, 2002, the Workplace Quality Committee (Lynn Catlett-lead) will review the draft core values and input from students, staff, faculty, alumni and advisory board and make a recommendation to the Dean.

2. By March 15, 2002, the Workplace Quality Committee (Leslie Wall and Cecilia Paul co leads) will present a college-wide brown bag discussion regarding the meaning and implementation of consensus decision-making.

3. By March 15, 2002, the Workplace Quality Committee (Bruce Lippke and Susan Bolton co leads), with input from students, will identify at least one controversial topic and provide a college-wide forum on how to disagree agreeably.

4. April 30, 2002, the Dean will present core values to the College.

5. By June 1, 2002, Karen Russell will establish an in-house robust management accounting system that generates helpful information to support decisions.

SIX-MONTH OBJECTIVES:

1. Within 2 weeks of receiving the architect's cost estimates, Linda Kaye will finalize the CFR Development Plan to incorporate Merrill Hall and the Environmental Forum, including targeted amounts needed.

2. By February 28, 2002, Kelley Duffield (lead) will plan and schedule a Legislative Open House at CFR for January 2003.

3. By March 15, 2002, Rick Gustafson and Dave Manuwal (co leads) will identify existing and new programs that can be self-sustaining and report to the Dean.

4. By June 1, 2002, the New Initiatives Team (Jim Fridley and John Marzluff co leads) will develop a plan to increase research funding