Michael Timko appointed as Director of the Echols Scholars Program

Michael Timko appointed as Director of the Echols Scholars Program

(Letter from Dean Woo to the Arts & Sciences Faculty on 20 May)

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Professor Michael P. Timko from the Department of Biology has been appointed Director of the Echols Scholars Program. As Director of the Echols Scholars Program, now entering its 52nd year, Michael will bring new energy and focus to the academic substance and programming, including expansion of research and capstone experiences for Echols Scholars, improved advising, hosting of conferences or other new events, increased community involvement, and enhanced interactions with alumni. The leadership team for the Echols program will consist of Michael as Director and a full-time assistant director who will serve as the association dean for Echols. The search for the assistant director is now in the final stages. Professor Timko, who starts officially at the end of May, will report to Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Gordon M. Stewart.

Michael came to the University of Virginia in 1986 after completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Cell Biology at Rockefeller University. He is a specialist in plant biology and maintains an active research program in botany and plant sciences. Michael has served on national review panels such as the National Science Foundation and as editor for scholarly journals such as Plant Molecular Biology, membership in numerous professional organizations, and international consulting in Brazil, China, and Ghana, to name a few. Michael is also the founder and director of the popular interdisciplinary major in Human Biology, through which he has had many years of experience teaching and advising Echols Scholars.

I would also like to thank Lynn Davis, who served as Interim Echols Dean during the 2012-13 academic year. Lynn served as Director of the Echols Scholars program for many years until 2002 and stepped in this year to help us maintain the fine mentoring and stewardship of the program and, most importantly, of the Echols Scholars themselves. We are very grateful to Lynn for her leadership and service this past year.

Please join me in congratulating Michael Timko on his new position.

Meredith Jung-En Woo, Dean
College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
University of Virginia