Announcing the appointment of new Dean, Faculty of Forestry

It is my pleasure to announce that the Board of Governors has accepted the President’s recommendation to appoint Dr. Robert Kozak as the new Dean of the Faculty of Forestry for a five-year term, commencing September 1, 2021. For full details of the appointment please visit https://academic.ubc.ca/dean-faculty-forestry.

Dr. Kozak is a professor in the Department of Wood Science at the UBC Faculty of Forestry, where he has been serving as Associate Dean, Academic, since July 2016. Prior to this appointment, he served as Head of the Department of Wood Science for five years.

Dr. Kozak received a BSc in Forestry and a PhD in Forest Products Utilization, both from UBC, and will be conferred a Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry honoris causa from the University of Helsinki this year. He has received several awards and distinctions, including the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Scientific Achievement Award, and the UBC Killam Teaching Prize on two occasions. 

I am grateful to the members of the President’s Advisory Committee for their commitment of extensive time and energy throughout the search. I would also like to thank students, faculty and staff for participating in the search process and providing valuable feedback to the committee. 

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Dean John Innes for his outstanding service to the university and excellent leadership of the Faculty over the past 11 years. Under his stewardship, the Faculty has enjoyed unprecedented growth and received recognition as one the top forestry faculties in the world.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Kozak on his new appointment. I am certain that the Faculty of Forestry will continue to build on its strengths under Dr. Kozak's leadership.

Andrew Szeri
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver