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The position of interim assistant dean of the CLA opened after Garvin Davenport retired last year and assistant deans Alzada Tipton and Alan Silva left for positions at other universities.

Martin was a professor of Biology and department chair when he decided to throw his hat in the ring and try for the interim dean position.

“I very much want the transition to our new dean to be successful and to help the university to be successful and effective in the future,” said Martin.

Of course, losing a professor was a blow for the Biology department. Thankfully, the blow was softened by Martin’s decision to stay on as department head and to retain all of his advisees.

Biology instructor Kathryn Malody said that she “couldn’t have thought of a better person” for the job but that the department is definitely in a scramble now to find a professor to pick up some of the slack.

Malody said the university has done its part in making sure they find a suitable professor but the problem is in finding “quality people to teach our students who are free to work.”

In response to whether the Biology department has suffered from the loss of Martin as a professor, junior Biology major Dena Heckel said, “for now the department is doing fine and [she] hasn’t seen anything on the surface that is in dire need of change.”

Martin expressed a desire to be able to take on a class in the future because he misses the day-to-day interaction with students.

At this point, Martin is slated to stay on in the interim position for one year and has not yet decided whether or not he will apply for the position permanently or if he will go back to being a full-time professor.