To: Vice Presidents, Deans, Department Heads, and Directors
From: S. Jack Hu, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
RE: Odum School of Ecology announcement

Dr. John Gittleman, UGA Foundation Professor and founding Dean of the Odum School of Ecology, recently announced that he will step down as Dean and return to the faculty at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, on June 30, 2021.

John joined the University of Georgia in 2006 as director of what was then known as UGA’s Institute of Ecology. When the Odum School began its operations in 2007, he was named founding Dean of the world’s first stand-alone academic school devoted to the study of ecology. 

Through the advancement of teaching, research, and service with an interdisciplinary and holistic perspective, John has made an enduring impact on the field of ecology and on the University of Georgia. Under his leadership, the Odum School launched a new Bachelor of Arts degree program with an interdisciplinary focus, and students have achieved an outstanding record of success in earning honors such as the Udall, Truman, and Goldwater Scholarships. Odum School students also initiated the University’s Gameday Recycling Program and spearheaded the campaign that led to the creation of the University’s Office of Sustainability. 

Odum School faculty have earned national and international recognition for their research, including honors such as the NSF CAREER Award, Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Under John’s leadership, the Odum School launched the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases and played an integral role in work being conducted at the UGA Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe. In addition, the Odum School reaches people and communities across the state through the activities of its River Basin Center and student-run outreach programs such as EcoReach and STEM Zone. 

John’s national leadership roles include serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2008 to 2013, and he is currently a voting, elected member of the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education, the accrediting body for veterinary schools.

An announcement on a mini-review of the school and subsequent search for the next Dean of the Odum School will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please join me in thanking John for his outstanding service to the University of Georgia.

##

Administrative Memos are coordinated through the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. For more information, contact Sam Fahmy at [email protected].