July 27, 2020
Dear Colleagues --
I am pleased to share that after an extensive national search we will welcome Anthony Davis as our dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, effective Sept. 1. Anthony comes to us from the Oregon State University College of Forestry, where he spent the last two and a half years serving as acting and interim dean and recently returned to his role as executive associate dean. His experience, particularly launching the silent phase of a $125MM fundraising campaign and overseeing a multimillion dollar construction project, will serve the university well as we continue work on our biological sciences initiative to expand and renovate Spaulding Hall.
As interim dean, Anthony was responsible for providing strategic direction and vision for the college and overseeing its annual operations budget of $45MM. In addition, he initiated and managed external partnerships to engage the scientific community as well as industry and government collaborators.
Anthony’s work restructuring his college’s budget and supporting architecture led to increased transparency by clarifying revenue sources, obligations and expenses, and a balanced budget after several years of deficit spending. His forward and creative thinking led to a new scholarship program that uses a capacity-based pricing model to direct recruiting and a discounting strategy to grow enrollment in existing courses and degrees that need students. He also worked with the state legislature to secure an additional $1MM to support wildfire activity in Oregon and led the college’s effort to transform an 82,500-acre state forest into a hub for research into forest conservation and management.
I thank the search committee for its support and work to identify a strong pool of qualified candidates. Please join me in welcoming Anthony to the UNH community and thanking Jon Wraith for his years of service in the dean’s office and his willingness to remain as dean until Anthony can join us.
Best regards,
Wayne Jones
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
