Two Deans at Colorado State University Announce Retirement Plans
Two of Colorado State University’s most respected administrators and longtime members of the campus community will be retiring over the next year. Allen Dyer, dean of the College of Natural Resources, will retire this fall and Nancy Hartley, dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences, will retire in fall 2004.
"Through their many accomplishments and contributions, Al Dyer and Nancy Hartley have been instrumental in creating a climate of excellence in their respective colleges and for the university as a whole," said Provost Peter Nicholls. "Colorado State is truly fortunate to have received the benefits of the remarkable leadership skills and dedication of these two deans for so many years."
As dean of the College of Natural Resources, some of Dyer’s achievements include the following.
– Increased research expenditures from $10 million to $34 million annually.
– Created the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Institute, the Integrated Resources Management Program and established the interdisciplinary environmental studies open-option for students interested in environmental programs at Colorado State.
– In 2001, a $4.3 million gift from Ed Warner to the Department of Earth Resources established two endowed chairs in geophysics and economic geology.
– Enhanced facilities and college infrastructure with state-of-the-art computer and research labs.
– Initiated new outreach efforts with local, state and federal agencies to meet the needs of natural resource constituents.
– Increased diversity by appointing the first female associate dean and department head in the college and increased ethnically diverse tenured faculty to 25 percent in a field that is traditionally homogenous.
Following are some of Hartley’s achievements as dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences.
– In April 2003, the vocational/technical education program was ranked in the top 10 graduate programs of its kind in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Colorado State is one of the leading members of the national University Council for Workforce and Human Resource Education. The occupational therapy program also was included in U.S. News’ top 10 graduate programs in the nation in this discipline in the latest ranking. Colorado State’s occupational therapy program was awarded $1.6 million and honored as a Program of Excellence by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in 2001.
– A 109 percent increase in external awards in the past five years ($4,354,707 in fiscal year 1998; $9,110,517 in fiscal year 2002 ).
– In 1999, a $3.2 million gift from Lectra Systems was given to the Department of Design and Merchandising, providing state-of-the-art computer software – the largest gift in the college’s history at that time.
– In 2001, a $1.5 million gift from Joseph Phelps, CEO and chairman of Hensel Phelps Construction Co., established an endowed chair in the Department of Manufacturing Technology and Construction Management. A 2002 report by the Engineering News-Record named Colorado State’s construction management program as the largest in the nation with the largest number of women graduates in the country and fourth in the number of organizations that recruit its students.
– Creation of professional development schools with Poudre School District, a reform initiative that has garnered national visibility for Colorado State.
– The state-of-the-art human performance clinical/research laboratory opened in May 2002. The laboratory is a 5,730 square-foot facility that provides cutting-edge research, outreach, disease prevention programs and that serves as a venue for clinical training and experience for undergraduate and graduate students.
"It will be difficult for the campus to say farewell to Al Dyer and Nancy Hartley; in the short time I have come to know Al and Nancy, I know that we will miss their contributions as part of our leadership team," said President Larry Penley. "Colorado State University is indebted to their service, dedication and desire to make this university a leader in research and the educational institution of choice for students. On behalf of the campus community, I wish both deans all the best in their future endeavors."
Hartley, who received her doctorate in vocational-educational administration from Colorado State in 1975, was appointed dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences in 1994. Prior to her appointment as dean, she was director of Colorado State’s School of Occupational and Educational Studies. As director, she coordinated on- and off-campus programs for the school and served as liaison to the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System, the Colorado Department of Education and was the co-chair of Colorado Council of Deans of Education for many years.
Before joining Colorado State in 1988, Hartley was a professor and director of vocational teacher education at the University of Northern Colorado. Her bachelor’s in social work is from Southern Illinois University and her master’s in counseling psychology is from Sangamon State University. Hartley currently serves on the Poudre Valley Health System board of directors, the Colorado Women’s Foundation board of directors and the national Board on Human Sciences.
Dyer, who received his doctorate in natural resource economics from Utah State University, joined Colorado State as a professor in 1971. He became head of the university’s department of forest and wood science (now the Department of Forest Sciences) in 1984. He was selected as dean of the College of Natural Resources in 1992 and served as interim provost from spring 2001 to 2002.
Dyer’s master’s in forest economics and doctorate in natural resource economics are from Utah State University. His bachelor’s in forestry is from the University of California-Berkeley.
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