PENSACOLA--The University of West Florida has appointed Leo ter Haar as director of the UWF School of Science and Engineering. ter Haar has been serving as interim director for the past year.
“Dr. ter Haar is a unique leader in the sciences,” said Jane Halonen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UWF. “He strongly believes in interdisciplinary approaches to solving problems and works especially hard with faculty to inspire creative collaborative strategies. I couldn’t be more pleased that he has agreed to continue to provide leadership for what may prove to be a national model for how regional university science programs should work.”
The School of Science and Engineering was formed three years ago in preparation for the construction of a new $32 million building. Programs housed in the school include mathematics, statistics, computer science, information technology, software engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and physics. The faculty in these programs work collaboratively to provide undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as applied and sponsored research.
“America needs more science and engineering talent,” said ter Haar. “UWF seeks to establish a national model for how faculty and university programs can work seamlessly with the community to produce great graduates to fill that need.”
Among the creative ideas currently being implemented in the school is a master’s of science in administration with an emphasis on database administration. The degree will be delivered entirely online.
“In a Web-based world, a database administration program fills a unique regional and national need,” said ter Haar.
The following UWF faculty members will assist ter Haar with management of the School of Science and Engineering programs. They are Sikha Bagui, Tom Gilbar (Fort Walton Beach), Mohamad Khabou, Kuiyuan Li, Chandra Prayaga, Sharon Simmons and Laura White.
For more information, contact ter Haar at (850) 474-2542 or e-mail lterhaar@uwf.edu.
