UM forestry appoints new dean

MISSOULA CURRENT

The University of Montana named its second new dean in as many weeks on Tuesday by appointing a former College of Forestry and Conservation faculty member to head the school.

Tom DeLuca, who spent 12 years at UM, will begin his new duties on Jan. 1, 2017. He currently serves as the director of the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

“I am thrilled to be taking on responsibility as dean of one of the best natural resource programs in the nation, and I am very happy to be coming home to Montana,” DeLuca said.

In addition to his time at UM and UW, DeLuca has worked as a faculty member at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and Bangor University in the United Kingdom. He was also a senior scientist at The Wilderness Society for three years and senior research scientist at the Institute for Subarctic Alpine Research in Sweden.

“Given his depth of experience and the broad support he received from faculty, staff and administrators, I am confident that (DeLuca) can successfully lead the College of Forestry and Conservation,” said UM Provost Perry Brown.

DeLuca already has outlined his goals in his new role, naming a welcoming experience for students and staff and pursuing a unified vision of how the college will continue to lead education in sustainable resource management and research.

He replaces former dean Jim Burchfield who will retire in August. Last week, UM also named Christopher Shook as the new dean of the School of Business Administration. He succeeds dean Larry Gianchetta, who will retire in June after 41 years at UM.