Roger Gilman to retire as dean of Fairhaven College

Roger Gilman, dean of Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, will be retiring from that position next summer.

“Under Roger Gilman’s exceptional leadership, Fairhaven College has enhanced its reputation for outstanding scholarship, innovative interdisciplinary education and active outreach and partnerships with local and area communities,” said Western President Bruce Shepard.

Gilman has been dean of Fairhaven College since 2006. He will retire as Fairhaven dean at the end of the next academic year, or in June 2013. Preparations for a search for Gilman’s successor have begun, to enable a national search to be launched at the beginning of fall quarter.

Gilman noted that it has been a longstanding goal for him to retire in 2013. “After 30 years of teaching and seven years of administrating I look forward to writing and consulting, traveling and fly-fishing,” Gilman said.

“Dean Gilman has been a valued member of our community and a leader in so many ways,” said Provost Catherine Riordan. “His thoughtfulness, optimism, and collaborative spirit will be missed. He has significantly advanced our conversation and action surrounding critical global issues and we are committed to sustaining that focus.”

Gilman has been active in many important initiatives at the college and for Western.

“I’ve enjoyed my work and relationships at Western. I will leave with a sense of accomplishment having helped further university-wide and college initiatives in international studies, sustainability, leadership, social entrepreneurship, video production, ethics and alternative education; and with success in repositioning the college within the university during an era of severe budget cuts,” Gilman said.

Gilman was one of the first graduates of Western’s Fairhaven College, where in 1973 he received a bachelor’s degree with honors, with a double major in philosophy and literature. This interest continued at the University of Chicago, where he received a master’s degree in the philosophy of science and a doctorate in philosophy. He specializes in evolutionary and ecological theory. His research is located at the interface of biology and ethics – in environmental, medical, biotechnology, research ethics, and theories of human and nonhuman nature. He also writes on the philosophy of education.

He previously served as the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. He also served there as chair of the Department of Philosophy and as a longtime faculty member. He has lectured at numerous universities both in the United States and abroad.

WWU's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, established in 1967, is nationally recognized for innovation in teaching and learning, intensive advising, student-designed majors, narrative assessment, experiential and independent learning and a commitment to social justice.