Editor’s note: The following message was sent to the CSU community from Interim Provost Jan Nerger on Aug. 9.

Dear Colleagues:

It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Simon Tavener as interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences. He assumed the duties of CNS dean in July as I transitioned from dean to interim provost. Dr. Tavener will serve in the role of interim dean during the 2022-2023 academic year.

I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Tavener for many years as he served on the CNS leadership team as executive associate dean for academics. He has passionately and diligently supported CNS as associate dean for more than a decade, helping to elevate its standing as one of the premiere colleges of foundational sciences in the nation. Additionally, he has served on collaborative teams across Colorado State University and in various roles in CNS for more than 20 years including as professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics. He knows CNS faculty, staff and students well, and will serve as a trusted steward on their behalf as he always has done.

Dr. Tavener received B.E. and M.E. degrees in Engineering Science at the University of Auckland before completing a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Oxford. He spent a year as a postdoc at the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications at the University of Minnesota and then 13 years in the Mathematics Department at Penn State. He joined CSU in 2000 and served for eight years as the chair of mathematics. Dr. Tavener served for three consecutive two-year elected terms as secretary for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) from 2012 to 2017. He also recently was awarded two visiting fellowships at the Oxford Center for Collaborative Applied Mathematics.

I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Tavener in our new respective roles to support the important work and initiatives of CSU and the College of Natural Sciences during this interim period and time of transition. I am grateful to him for taking on these additional leadership responsibilities.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Tavener on his appointment as interim dean.

With appreciation,

Jan Nerger