Gale Named Associate Dean of Forestry
HOUGHTON--Dr. Margaret Gale
has accepted an appointment as associate dean of the School of Forestry
and Wood Products at Michigan Technological University effective July
1, Dr. Glenn Mroz has announced. "The School is very fortunate
to have the opportunity to enlist the talents of Peg Gale," said
Mroz, dean of forestry and wood products. "Peg is the type of faculty
member who has worked effectively in teaching, research and service. She's
served on major University committees, she knows how the University works
and can work effectively with people. "Plus, she's a very direct,
straightforward person and a great role model." Gale has been the School's
graduate program coordinator for more than five years. When the School's
charter was revised, that position was eliminated along with the graduate
student coordinator and computer coordinator positions. As associate dean,
Gale will have responsibility for those three areas. In addition, she
will continue to teach and mentor grad students in the area of wetland
ecology and management. "With tight budgets, we
simply have to be more efficient with faculty and staff time while insuring
that we proceed toward our goal of becoming a 'national university of
choice,'" Mroz said. Gale earned a BS in Forestry
and an MS in Forest Management at Michigan Tech before completing her
PhD in Production Ecology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
She returned to MTU as an instructor in 1987 and attained the rank of
professor in 1999. While her research focuses
primarily on wetlands issues, Gale has coauthored more than 40 articles
and presentations on a variety of topics relating to forestry and forest
ecology. She is co-editor of the book "Northern Forested Wetlands:
Ecology and Management" and was book editor for the Forest Ecology
and Management Journal. Since 1987, she has been the principal investigator
on approximately $1 million in research funding. She has helped establish a
study-abroad program at the University of Veracruz, in Mexico, for MTU's
applied ecology students and traveled to Poland as part of a joint research
project with Michigan Tech and Polish scientists. Gale received the School's
Distinguished Teaching Award in 1990 and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science
and Education Faculty Fellowship Award in 1994. In addition, she was honored
in 1997 by the Society of American Foresters for her contributions to
the development and coordination of ecological terminology. She has advised 10 master's
recipients and two PhD graduates and is currently advising nine graduate
students. She has served on a number of University committees and is currently
a member of MTU's Graduate Faculty Council. 5/9/02--MTN054