Dean’s blog: The science of change
It’s that time of year. Our campuses are a lively display of nature’s beauty as the leaves change creating brilliant, breathtaking displays of color. As scientists, we understand the main reason for this change is the change of daylight hours impacting the breakdown of chlorophyll, which allows the leaves’ yellow and orange pigments (carotenoids) to become visible. Different species have varying pigments leading to the variety of colors. Then the leaves fall, as the abscission layer of cells weaken the connection between the leaf and branch. What’s left of the trees and bushes (stems, trunks and twigs) are equipped to survive the winter to come. What happens to all the leaves that fall? Nature has a solution for that too; they decompose, can become food for soil organisms, or help the humus layer of forest with rainfall absorption. It’s easy to see the change in the tree yet perhaps harder to observe the full benefit to the forest ecosystem at large. But we appreciate it for the beauty it is, even turning the chore of leaf raking into jumping into the piles we create.
As I noted in my recent townhall, this fall is a great time to be in the College of Science at George Mason University. Enrollment continues to support our growth. Research grant funding has increased 18% over prior year, and we are on a strong trajectory for this year as well. And our faculty and staff continue to offer creative and exciting approaches to learning, all to benefit our students and the communities we serve. But we didn’t get to this point by standing still.
At the same time of this growth, we are surrounded by change-- an interim dean, new provost, even outside our institution, the United State prepares for an election to bring about a change in leadership at the highest levels of government. In each change, we have an opportunity to find our voice and work towards a collective vision. And I encourage each of us to act.
In addition to offering insights on our financial health and work on the university’s new budget model, during the townhall, I also provided updates on our administrative support assessment focused on helping us be more flexible through pilot tests to map, and redesign processes to optimize our operations. A huge thank you to those of you involved in these important efforts.
We are also partnering with the University Business Consulting group to help us implement our strategic plan, focusing on allocation of responsibilities to own and transparently show progress as these efforts continue to move forward. Given the leadership changes of the past few months, we don’t want the good work that got us to this point of the plan’s life to go stale. We seek to continue collaborative processes on a strong foundation for forward growth. I encourage you to stay informed and engaged.
Some suggest change may bring uncertainty. To allow for transparency, open flows of communication, and timely recognition of successes, we will be offering many opportunities to share your ideas and feedback which ideally can help alleviate concerns and continue to propel us forward.
In addition to townhalls and Coffees with Cody, (next one November 13), opportunities to join working groups in Academic Affairs and ABCE and a free flowing feedback loop are available, allowing folks to share their ideas, create goals, and move our college forward.
I believe Socrates had it right when saying, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Take time to enjoy the leaves as they change and know we, regardless of the changes to come, we will come together to build our future and embrace the beauty of a fresh spring ahead.
