Dr. Rob Kozak reappointed as UBC Dean of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship

UBC has reappointed Dr. Robert Kozak as Dean of the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship for a second five-year term.

During his first term as Dean, Dr. Kozak led a significant evolution of the Faculty, including its expansion to become the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship, reflecting the breadth of its research, teaching, education programs and community outreach. He has also led the Faculty in its expansion of global engagements, Indigenous programming, microcredentials, as well as graduate and undergraduate programming.

Under his leadership, the Faculty transformed its undergraduate programming, consolidating five degrees under the new Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and its six associated majors. The Faculty also launched the Bachelor of Indigenous Land Stewardship, a first-of-its-kind degree co-developed by Indigenous leaders and Faculty scholars to advance Indigenous-led approaches to land management and sustainable resource stewardship.

Dr. Kozak also oversaw fundraising activities that doubled expected returns and increased research funding by almost $10-million annually. The additional funding has supported expanded research and teaching activities, as well as a major capital project to replace aging infrastructure at the Faculty’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest.