Scott Turpen who has a doctoral academic degree in music has officially been appointed interim dean of the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences.
Turpen was the college’s acting dean after former Dean Camellia Okpodu resigned on June 20. He was formerly an associate dean for the college.
“It’s a humbling experience to be in this position,” Turpen said.
“I started here as a new faculty member 21 years ago. I never envisioned myself being in this particular position.”
The Wyoming Board of Trustees’ approval is required to appoint deans and interim deans according to UW regulations.
This decision came on at the Board of Trustees’ meeting in Pinedale, Wyo. on July 15, 2022.
“It’s an important role in the university and obviously within the college,” Turpen said.
“It’s the position that gets to lead the discussion for the future of the college.”
Turpen is beginning to appoint associate deans for the college which include, Susan Aronstein, professor of English, Narina Nunez, professor of psychology and Karen Bartsch Estes, professor of psychology.
Turpen has been a professor at UW since 2001 in the Department of Music and worked as an associate dean in the college last year. He has been the head of the department and a professor of the saxophone.
He has won several awards for his teaching, including the Jack P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award, the College of Arts & Sciences Top 10 Teacher Award, and Excellence in Advising Awards from UW.
One of the biggest challenges for the interim dean will be navigating the reorganization of UW, especially with the College of Arts and Sciences being one of the most significant changes.
“A lot of the challenging discussions get to happen this year,” Turpen said.
“Where there are challenges, there are also opportunities to kind of think about things in a new way and refocus.”
Having the changes in the college occur, Turpen thinks that having a more focused college of social sciences, humanities, and arts will allow the college to be defined better as a whole.
Dean Turpen wants to focus on retaining students in the college, working with staff and faculty to provide support, and working with the UW Foundation on fundraising for the college.
Turpen had several mentions regarding the staff and faculty of the college and gave them support and recognition. He observed some of the perspectives he now has in this position.
“I was a professor for a long period of time. I know how those decisions impact those folks.” Turpen said.
He also applied students in the decision-making process with perspective, as he explained he was also once an undergraduate and graduate student.
While Wyoming and UW have an abundance of nature and outdoors nearby, Turpen thinks there is something better than that and is excited about it in the role of interim dean. The ability to interact with the staff, faculty, and students.
“I think that’s what always makes UW a great place to be, getting to work with all of those folks in a different capacity. That’s what I’m looking forward to most.” Turpen said.
