In 1990 I began my career as a textiles, merchandising and interiors faculty member here in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Dean Emily Pou hired me. She was the same dean who had served me tea from a silver service some 19 years before when I was an undergraduate home economics education major. I wasn’t shocked when Dean Pou announced her pending retirement soon after I arrived on the faculty. She had told me during my interview that it was coming, but I’m sure that many long-time faculty, staff, students and alumni saw their world changing and weren’t sure how they would like it.

It took nearly a year and two searches before a new dean was named. Sharon Y. Nickols took over Dean Pou’s office on July 1, 1991. Now, 15 years later, Dean Nickols has retired as dean, returning to a faculty position in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics and I know that, once again, there are faculty, staff, students and alumni who are seeing their world change and aren’t sure how that change will affect them. As we continue to search for our college’s new dean, UGA Provost Arnett Mace has asked me to serve as interim dean. In that role, I am drawing on many of the skills I learned from Dean Nickols’ mentoring. I hope to reassure all of us that while there are certainly changes ahead, we’ll experience them together.

Meanwhile, as you’ll see in this issue of FACS Magazine, our world does keep turning, and we’re still taking care of business. Our faculty members are identifying the rates of obesity among our children and identifying concrete ways of helping communities deal with this chronic disease. Another faculty member is exploring the impact on consumers of pre-paid phone cards that are filled with misleading and, sometimes, inaccurate information. Far from Dawson Hall in the community of Metter, our Extension and Outreach staff are finding new ways to work with middle-schoolers, helping them learn new strategies for success both academically and socially.

We have eight new faculty on board this fall, and we’re launching our consumer economics major at the university’s Griffin campus. During the past summer, we had more than 100 students and six faculty who participated in study classes in London, Mexico, Ghana, New York City and Washington, D.C.. South Campus Tailgate and Leadership FACS kicked off our fall and several more student and alumni events are scheduled in coming weeks.

Our world is changing, but rather than be nervous or leery, we’re embracing that change and the new opportunities we know are on the horizon. We look forward to talking with many of you in the coming months and thank you for the support that you provide us.

Sincerely,