UNH Today

Will Clyde, a long-standing professor in the UNH Earth sciences department, has recently been appointed associate dean of the UNH graduate school.

Alongside Dean Cari Moorhead and Assistant Dean Dovev Levine, Clyde’s role focuses on the academic side of graduate life. His role supports the “Expand Academic Excellence” initiative in President Dean’s Four Strategic Priorities. He serves as a primary liaison for graduate faculty—a role he is well equipped for, having been a professor for most of his career.

Clyde began teaching geology, earth history, and paleontology back in 1998. Over the course of his 23 years at UNH, he has served in a variety of roles related to graduate students and in tandem with the graduate school. Not only has he taught and mentored students, but he has also served as graduate coordinator, department chair, graduate council member, and faculty fellow.  

The faculty fellow role, which involved responsibilities like working with the Graduate Council and overseeing fellowship programs, gave Clyde a window into administrative leadership in the Graduate School.

“I have always felt like the Graduate School is a really good place,” Clyde says. “It is well-run, and very human—it is focused on students as people.”

The Graduate School has needed an associate dean for several years now, as the position has been open since 2016. They began conducting a national search last winter. Ultimately, Clyde was selected because of his direct experience working with graduate students and faculty.

“The Graduate School exists in service to the graduate programs that span across UNH,” says Assistant Dean Levine. “Our role is to underpin all of the things that the faculty want to do in those programs, and help them achieve the full extent of their excellence. Will is a tremendous asset to us as we work to better serve our programs.”

Clyde’s familiarity with the Graduate School has also been beneficial considering that he has begun this new position in the midst of a global pandemic. Of course, this has also made his associate dean duties somewhat unusual.

“For me, the biggest thing has been separating out what’s a COVID issue, and what’s a normal issue,” Clyde says. “It’s really an exciting time in the Graduate School, with tons of new programs and initiatives. I’m hopeful that we can get back to a place soon where we have more capacity to think strategically into the future.”