A Note From the Dean
Greetings from Turlington Plaza!
Interim Dean Joe GloverAfter working in the Provost’s
Office for five years, I have been fortunate to return to the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It feels like I have come home. I may be
a little older and grayer (working in central administration often has
that effect!) but hopefully a little wiser about the college’s
place in the universe and role in the university.
CLAS is the heart and soul of UF. Most UF undergraduates experience higher education in their first two years through the lens of this college, and many decide to stay on for their entire undergraduate education. Each of them contributes to the vibrant intellectual and social life of CLAS. Thanks largely to the quantitative, communication and critical thinking skills they develop through coursework and contact with faculty and graduate students, they become equipped to pursue a challenging major. Four years later they emerge among the nation’s best, prepared to meet the challenges of their generation.
We are tasked with maintaining and improving CLAS educational and cultural opportunities, while grappling with the size and complexity of a university with 50,000 students and limited public funds. We also have the responsibility of refreshing the faculty and its research enterprise so we shine the brightest light on the problems of society and the mysteries of the natural world. We are challenged to bring our students the individual attention, the latest technology and the most exciting thinking to help them become tomorrow’s leaders.
CLAS will continue to excel with your support. We look forward to the maturation of several exciting initiatives: selecting a director for the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, completing the construction of Jim and Alexis Pugh Hall to house the new Bob Graham Center for Public Service and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, and enjoying our first opportunity to view the heavens through the world’s largest optical telescope we have constructed with Spain and Mexico. Could I ask for a better homecoming?