Hello SIPS Community,

I had delayed sending out the April Interim Update, thinking I might have some news about a new director or new faculty. Sadly, that is not yet the case as you will read below. The candidate is still in negotiations with CALS. It is my understanding (as of this afternoon) that we will have an answer by the end of April. I will send a message out to the entire SIPS community as soon as I hear that a decision has been made.

Faculty – Save the date. We will have a SIPS-wide faculty meeting on May 12. We will meet in 404 Plant Science from 2:00 – 3:30.

Students and Staff – I am working to identify dates and locations to meet with graduate students and I will have a separate meeting with staff. I plan to have meetings on both the Ithaca and Geneva campuses. I will provide more details once they are available. It’s important for everyone to have the opportunity to ask questions about SIPS and provide feedback and ideas that will improve our school.

Other news:

Our four faculty searches are moving along nicely. I have included an update on each below;

• Great News!! Gaurav Moghe has been hired as an Assistant Professor of Plant Metabolic Biochemistry (Plant Biology Section). We look forward to Gaurav joining SIPS later this year.
• Assistant/Associate Professor of Specialty Crop Systems (Horticulture Section). An offer has been made to the top candidate and negotiations are ongoing. It appears that the candidate will come to SIPS, and we hope to be able to make an announcement soon.
• Assistant/Associate Professor of Quantitative Genetics (Plant Breeding and Genetics Section). An offer has been made to the top candidate and negotiations are ongoing. It appears that the candidate will come to SIPS, and we hope to be able to make an announcement soon.
• Assistant/Associate Professor of Plant Biodiversity/Phylodiversity. An offer has recently been made to the top candidate and negotiations are underway.

Feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, or good news,

Chris