As the College of the Environment (CoE) prepares to open its doors in autumn 2009, leaders are still defining how its creation will improve collaboration between its departments.

“The College of the Environment started with the notion that the University of Washington has tremendous assets in facing the challenges of the 21st century,” said Dennis Hartmann, Interim Dean of the CoE. “The creation of the college will provide the conditions where synergy between departments can take place. There is a relationship between the atmosphere and the ocean. If you want to know about the health of fish in the Puget Sound, you have to know what is happening in the atmosphere and on land.”

Even though creating a new college will not guarantee increased collaboration between departments, Hartmann still believes that joining key departments and schools within the same college is one factor that could help encourage an increase in the quantity and quality of interdisciplinary work. This would make the UW more visible in the external community as a center of environmental research and training.

Though five departments are scheduled to become part of the CoE, two departments have not yet voted to initiate the process of joining the new college. Faculty from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) and the School of Oceanography have evaluated the plans for the new college, but have not yet voted to become a part of the college.

“Our faculty has evaluated presentations over the last year and a half, but we have not heard enough to indicate that the amalgamation of units listed and the administrative structure of the College of the Environment will provide our faculty with a better environment than we have now,” said David Armstrong, Director of the SAFS. “We have a vibrant, healthy department within a very good college at present.”

Armstrong notes that work between SAFS and other departments has taken place prior to the creation of the CoE, and that interdepartmental collaboration will continue in the future regardless.

“We have a very multi-disciplinary applied dimension to basic science,” Armstrong said.

Despite the decision not to join the new college at this time, Armstrong indicated that his department is watching the development of the CoE very closely, and the faculty continues to participate in planning.

“We are very interested in the research institute that would be at the center of the college,” Armstrong said. “We’re still open to the College of the Environment and have faculty representatives on the active committees right now. We are studying and analyzing information as presented. During this very difficult financial time for the state and university, it is important for our faculty to learn how the president and provost plan to resource this large, new college in a way that won’t reduce budgets and faculty of units that might join.”

Hartmann believes the missing departments would increase the strength of the college and feels their participation would greatly add to the CoE’s mission.

“Some of the synergy we expect depends on their presence in the college,” he said.

Though the process of creating a new college brings some initial uncertainties, Hartmann is confident that the college will strengthen as an institution over time and establish itself as the preeminent institution for environmental study in five to 10 years.

After the University of Washington Board of Regents voted to create the college, an anonymous donor wrote a check for $1 million to the new college.

“This is an indicator of the potential public support that is waiting for the College of the Environment to bear fruit,” said Julia Parrish, director of the Program on the Environment.

“Is it [the College of the Environment] needed now? Could we put it off?” Parrish said. “Or would we be losing something larger by waiting? In my personal estimation, we would be losing. We would be losing the opportunity to recruit and develop the next generation of students who want to be problem solvers… I think the time to put together a college of the environment was yesterday.”

Reach contributing writer Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.