In his newly released action plan, Hal Salwasser, dean of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, calls for more diversity, transparency and collegiality within the college and sets in motion changes he hopes will move the college forward after the year’s tumult.

The changes he’ll implement stem from recommendations made by the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, a 13-member group he created in February to examine what structural and climactic problems precipitated the maelstrom that has consumed the college for the past six months.

His plan was posted on the college’s Web site Wednesday, along with the committee’s final report.

Controversy has surrounded the college since January, when some professors tried to interfere with publication of a post-salvage logging study led by graduate student Daniel Donato. The study was published in Science, a leading peer-reviewed journal.

Some say the professors were trying to defend academic rigor and protect Donato and his co-authors from entering a flawed study into scientific record. Others viewed it as bullying, censorship and a blow to academic freedom.

Early last month, faculty, staff and students in the College of Forestry were invited to participate in a confidence/no confidence vote regarding Salwasser’s ability to lead the college forward, as well as the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility’s recommendations and Salwasser’s plan to implement these changes.

Of the 330 votes tallied, 66 percent expressed confidence in the dean, while 24 percent delivered a vote of no confidence and 10 percent abstained from voting.

There was a similar split among voters regarding changes suggested by the committee, and the dean’s plan to address those suggestions. Sixty-three percent supported the changes and the plan, while 17 percent opposed and 20 percent abstained.

Salwasser accepted all but one of the committee’s 25 recommendations. He decided an outside review of the committee’s report is not necessary at this time, but said he’ll reexamine this issue in six months.

To improve leadership and governance within the college, Salwasser decided — at the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility’s recommendation — to add two members-at-large to the Forestry Executive Committee, the college’s governing body.

Salwasser will act fast. He’s seeking nominations now, and expects to make a selection in the next few weeks.

Salwasser will make himself more accessible to the college community, wandering the halls and holding regular open-door office hours. All-college meetings will be held quarterly, rather than annually.

In the interest of transparency, the Forestry Executive Committee and the newly reconfigured College of Forestry Advisory Council will post meeting agendas and minutes on the Web. All meetings will be open, except for executive sessions, which usually address confidential personnel matters.

In 2007, the college will implement a policy for reviewing administrators. “The results enable individuals to analyze and correct gaps between self-perception and the perceptions of others,” Salwasser wrote in his plan.

Salwasser will diversify the Forest Research Laboratory Advisory Committee. It consists largely of representatives with ties to the timber industry, and Salwasser will fill the vacant seat with a leader in the conservation community.

He will appoint an ad hoc committee to develop a code of conduct within the college that includes faculty and staff, not just students. He also will work with the newly formed Graduate Student Council, and hopes to develop a course in academic freedom, responsibility and scientific ethics that students can take.

“It is now time to act and adapt as we strive to attain an even higher level of excellence than achieved in the last 100 years,” Salwasser said.

At a glance

To view the entire Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility report and Hal Salwasser’s action plan, see the Oregon State University College of Forestry’s Web site, www.cof.orst.edu/cof/news/moving_forward.php.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.