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After a national search and a careful review of candidates, John Weishampel was appointed dean of the UCF College of Graduate Studies on April 30. He has been serving as interim dean since July 2024.

Timothy Letzring, senior vice provost for academic affairs, made the appointment in close consultation with Provost John Buckwalter. The decision was shaped by thoughtful feedback from faculty, staff and other stakeholders throughout the search.

麻豆精品 S淒r. Weishampel 麻豆精品 S檚 steady leadership as interim dean has created an environment that supports the success of our students, faculty, and staff and strengthens collaboration across the college. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Timothy Letzring, senior vice provost for academic affairs

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Weishampel has spent nearly 31 years at UCF, beginning his career as an assistant professor in biology. He has served in a variety of leadership roles, including biology graduate program director, director of interdisciplinary studies and senior associate dean. He has also served as a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) program officer in the Division of Graduate Education. In those roles, his oversight helped elevate UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 national profile in graduate education and expand opportunities for interdisciplinary training and research engagement.

麻豆精品 S�This college sits at the intersection of everything UCF aspires to be from research excellence, student opportunity and meaningful community impact, 麻豆精品 S� Weishampel says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e spent the better part of my career here building those connections, and I 麻豆精品 S檓 excited to deepen that work as dean. 麻豆精品 S�

As permanent dean, Weishampel 麻豆精品 S檚 agenda centers on three interlocking priorities: supporting graduate students and postdoctoral scholars success, strengthening day 麻豆精品 S憈o 麻豆精品 S慸ay operations, and building collaborations across UCF and with external stakeholders.

麻豆精品 S淥ur graduate students and postdocs are doing extraordinary work. My job is to make sure the infrastructure, the mentorship and the resources are in place so they can excel 麻豆精品 S� and so the world knows about it. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� John Weishampel, College of Graduate Studies dean

In practice, he says he sees these as inseparable. For Dean Weishampel, prioritizing competitive stipends and accessible health care, goes hand in hand with modernizing degree audit systems and data tools that help students and advisors track progress. He also believes both efforts depend on strengthening relationships with faculty, principal investigators, industry partners, and the graduate education community to enhance opportunities and UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 national profile.

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Weishampel 麻豆精品 S檚 first steps as dean include establishing an advisory board, launching a strategic enrollment plan to strengthen domestic and international recruitment, and creating additional pathways for graduate students to showcase their research and compete for national and international recognition.

麻豆精品 S淲e have made significant progress, 麻豆精品 S� he says. “The goal now is to build on it deliberately to make UCF a destination for the best graduate students and scholars, and to ensure every one of them leaves prepared to take on the challenges associated with our dynamic world. 麻豆精品 S�

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A nationally recognized scholar, Weishampel 麻豆精品 S檚 research spans remote sensing of forest ecosystems, sea turtle ecology and pioneering applications of LiDAR to detect archaeological features beneath forest canopies. His work has been supported by major federal agencies, including NSF, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, garnering honors such as the NSF CAREER Award and NASA New Investigator Award.

Earlier in Weishampel 麻豆精品 S檚 career, he held numerous fellowships and visiting appointments, including service as a Fulbright distinguished research chair and senior scholar; Fulbright awards in Canada, Germany and Spain; a Charles Bullard Fellowship at Harvard University; and a visiting professorship in Paris. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a program officer at NSF, administering the Research Traineeship and Innovations in Graduate Education programs across more than 100 institutions, an experience he now draws upon in his leadership.

Weishampel holds a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in biology from Duke University and master 麻豆精品 S檚 and doctoral degrees in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. Before joining UCF, he served as a National Research Council Research Associate at NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 Goddard Space Flight Center.

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