Transition Announcement for ECOS and CES

Dear colleagues,

Congratulations to Colin Polsky, Ph.D., who was named the associate vice president for the FAU Broward Campuses. As many of you know, Colin was a leader in our college for many years, he served as the director for the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) since 2014; is the founding director for the newly formed School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS); and is a professor of geosciences.

We wish Colin success in this exciting new role and thank him for his deft service that has helped shape the college.

A national search will be conducted for the new director of ECOS, who will also oversee CES, to identify a visionary, environmentally-focused leader.

In the meantime, John Baldwin, Ph.D., has agreed to serve as the interim director of ECOS. Together with ECOS Associate Director, Mike McCoy, Ph.D., John will continue the forward momentum of the new school. John is a professor of biology and associate dean of faculty development and had strong involvement with formation of ECOS.

The Assistant Director of CES, Kimberly Vardeman, will function as the interim director of the center. Kimberly has been with CES since 2016 and has deep experience with the center’s initiatives.

Thank you to both John and Kimberly for stepping in to take on these additional interim responsibilities.

Additional details will follow.

Valery E. Forbes, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science