October brought cooler weather and bustling days to a fall semester in full swing here in the Odum School of Ecology. Against the backdrop of busy classes and exciting research, Ecology launched two faculty searches that will support and enhance our two affiliated centers.  The Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, directed by Ecology professor Dr. John Drake, is seeking to hire a Quantitative Disease Ecologist (Associate or Full Professor), with a target date of Nov. 15 to receive applications.  This search is part of as part of a university-wide Presidential Interdisciplinary Cluster Hire Initiative in the area of artificial intelligence and data science.  As part of a cluster focused on the dynamics of infectious diseases, Ecology is partnering with 3 other colleges on campus to recruit eight new faculty colleagues over the next two years.

Also this fall, the River Basin Center, focused on the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems, is seeking to hire a Director of Policy to work together with Dr. Seth Wenger, the center’s Director of Science. The search underway is for Assistant or Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Ecology, with a target date for applications of Nov 29. We are excited to fill these positions, and look forward to reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and recruiting new colleagues to our centers and faculty ranks in the months ahead.

One popular tradition that returned earlier this semester is the undergraduate program’s Waffle Wednesdays!  If you encounter a sweet aroma arising from the courtyard on Wednesdays at noon, that’s the smell of fully vegan waffles being cooked by undergraduate advisor Misha Boyd. Weekly toppings (chocolate chips, berries, honey…) make these waffles worth waiting for, as students line up with plates in hand. While this activity focuses on undergraduate students, faculty, staff and grad students are encouraged to stop by and introduce yourselves to our amazing and talented AB and BS majors. We are thrilled that our undergraduate programs have grown from around 80 to over 180 students during the past 7 years, and that students in Ecology continue to benefit from our mentored research opportunities, internships, service learning courses, study away, and other experiential learning activities.

This past week, Ecology faculty, staff and student employees learned that UGA is required to comply with COVID-19 guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. This guidance (discussed in an ArchNews memo from 10/26), states that with limited exceptions, all covered employees of federal contractors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, 2021. For the most part, this will include all faculty, staff and student employees who work on or in connection with a federal contract or who work in a covered contractor workplace. UGA is notifying covered employees on a rolling basis, and many Odum School members have already received a notification email. Employees and visitors must also comply with current CDC guidance regarding mask‑wearing and physical distancing while in covered contractor workplaces, which will likely apply to the Ecology Building and many other areas of campus. Details regarding the federal regulations can be found at https://coronavirus.uga.edu. As members of the Odum School, we look forward to doing our part to keep our community safe and healthy.

These remain challenging times for so many reasons, but we remain proud and excited about the work that we are doing in the Odum School of Ecology. We continue to explore, learn, and support each other every day.