UMaine Announces Dean Changes in Two Colleges
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — Two University of Maine colleges will be under new leadership when classes begin for the fall semester, as two veteran UMaine deans have announced their plans to step down.
G. Bruce Wiersma, a UMaine graduate who has served as dean of the college now known as the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture since 1991, has left that position. He will be the founding director of UMaine’s Center for Sustainable Forestry Research. An independent research center with close ties to the UMaine School of Forest Resources, the center will be the new home for UMaine’s forestry-related research programs, improving upon a long tradition of forestry and forest ecosystems research at the university.
Edward Ashworth, a professor who heads up the Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., has been chosen from a national search to replace Wiersma. Ashworth, who has a Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Physiology from the University of Maryland, has been at Purdue since 1987. He has also worked for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and has held academic posts in the United Kingdom.
“In 15 years as dean, Bruce has guided the college and its programs through a period of significant change. It has emerged stronger than ever, thanks to Bruce’s outstanding leadership,” says UMaine President Robert Kennedy. “I look forward to working closely with Bruce in his new and very important role through which he will exercise those same leadership skills to managing and coordinating UMaine research in an area that is absolutely critical to our state’s future.”
Associate Dean Alan Kezis will serve as interim dean until Ashworth arrives at UMaine later this summer.
“In Prof. Ashworth, we have found a worthy successor to Bruce,” Kennedy continues. “He has an outstanding track record as a scholar and as an academic leader, and we look forward to his contributions in this important role.” University of Maine System Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart has given his approval to Ashworth’s appointment, which is subject to final approval by the System Board of Trustees.
Larryl Matthews, dean of UMaine’s College of Engineering since 1999, has resigned to accept the founding dean’s position in a new engineering college at Purdue North Central University in Indiana. Prof. Dana Humphrey, chair of UMaine’s Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will serve as interim dean during a national search for a new college dean.
“Larryl’s tenure has been remarkably successful, as he has led the college during a time of significant facilities expansion, greater connections with industry and with alumni, and a generally higher profile for the college,” Kennedy says. “I wish Larryl the best in this exciting new venture.”
Humphrey, who has been on the UMaine faculty since 1986, has served the university in a variety of leadership roles during that time.
“It is comforting to know that we can turn to Dana at this time, and that he will be a positive guiding force as we search for a new dean,” Kennedy says.