New dean appointed
The USU Uintah Basin Campus will soon instate a new dean and executive director. The position will be filled by USU alumnus Boyd F. Edwards who most recently served as a professor of physics at West Virginia University where he won multiple teaching honors including the endowed Russell and Ruth Bolton WVU professorship.
Edwards, a native to Utah, said he is humbled and motivated by the trust he has been shown through the extension of this opportunity.
“My vision for the USU Uintah Basin Regional Campus is to improve lives through education and hands-on research and internship experiences,” Edwards said. “Such experiences enrich the educational process and better prepare students for the workplace.”
Edwards said education and research are the keys to unlocking vast untapped energy resources in the Uintah Basin and will help the economy to grow.
Edwards, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at USU and his Ph.D in applied physics from Stanford, will be replacing interim dean Steve Hawkes, who has been filling in since the campus’s former dean, Wes Holly, resigned.
Robert Behunin, USU vice president for commercialization and regional development, said that the search committee responsible for finding and hiring the new dean wanted to find someone who could connect with the community and who understood USU’s land grant mission, but who also had experience with USU’s energy research platform. He said Packer’s experience in physics gave him the right research background, and his professorship made him well suited to mentor faculty and students.
“Edwards has high intellect and low ego,” Behunin said. “He knows when to be a leader and when to follow. The Uintah Basin is in a building and growth phase, and Boyd wants to help the community build a legacy of educational and economic sustainability.”
Hawkes, who also served in the search committee, said a num ber of people applied for the position and were interviewed, but Edwards was chosen because of his work in Utah growth and development as well as his enthusiastic and personable character. He also said it was important that the candidate be able to work closely with the community to develop a vision for the future of the campus.
Edwards said, “My wife, Nadine, and I are impressed by the vision of the community for education and by the dedication of the Uintah Basin Regional Campus faculty and staff.”
Hawkes said the position of executive director and dean includes more than a typical dean’s position. He said that as well has having to manage campus, curriculum and faculty issues, Edwards would be expected to manage budget, development and advancement issues.
Edwards said that his own research experiences as an undergraduate at USU helped him shape and motivate his career as a scientist.
“I am eager to develop infrastructure that will allow students to have similar experiences in the Basin,” Edwards said. “My wife, Nadine, and I are delighted about this special opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”
Edwards will be instated dean and executive director of the Uintah Basin campus Nov. 15
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