COSMWEEKLY
THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
UPDATES FROM THE DEAN
HappyHalloween!!AsweneartheendofOctoberandbeginthepushtowardstheendofthe semester,Iwanttotakethisopportunitytosaythankyouforthehardworkyouhaveputinto this semester Withtheenrollmentgrowthweexperiencedthisyear,thishascertainlybeenachallenging semester
Ialsohavesomeupdatesonafewitems:
Dr.ScottMateerhasbeenselectedtotakethehelmofthenewestdepartmentinCOSM. On November1st,ScottwillbeginhisserviceastheInterimDepartmentChairfortheDepartmentof BiomedicalSciences. Inthisrole,ScottwillcontinuehisleadershipoftheB.S.BiomedicalSciences programwhileworkingtoestablishthenewdepartment.
Dr.MitchWeilandhasbeenselectedastheprogramcoordinatorforthenewlyapprovedPh.D. BiomedicalSciencesprogram. Inthisrole,MitchwillensurewehaveafullcohortofBiomedPh.D. forthefall2026semesterwhileworkingcloselywiththefacultytosetuptheinterdisciplinary program.
Dr.StephenGreimanwillbetheAssociateDeanforResearchandGraduateStudiesuponhis returnfromtheFulbrightFellowshipinJanuary
TheappointmentscompletethesearchesthatwereunderwayforleadershippositionsinCOSM ThereisonefinalpositionindevelopmentforaCampusCoordinatorpositionassociatedwiththe EastGeorgiaconsolidation ThecurrentchairofmathandscienceatEastGeorgiawillmoveintothe campuscoordinatorpositioninCOSMmaintainingtheday-to-dayoversightoftheSwainsboro campus,workingCOSMchairsoncoursescheduling,andreportingtoDr.Koehlerinhisroleas AssociateDeanforCurriculumandInstruction.
Additionally,Ihavesomebudgetupdates. Forthe2025-2026academicyear,COSMhasalarge numberofvacantfacultylines-22totalpositions.Thesepositionsfallintothreecategories-new positions(MathandBiomed),positionsgeneratedfromretirementsin2025thatwillbefilledsoon, andpositionsweplantoholdopenforalongerperiodoftime.These22positionswouldhave providedatotalteachingcapacityof45coursesectionspersemesterintheCollege. Usingthe salarysavingsfromthesepositions,COSMsupported10visitinginstructorsand10COSMfundedGTA positions. Thisinvestmentsupports72coursesectionspersemester. Wecurrentlyhavesearches underwaytopermanentlyfill10ofthe22positionsforfall2026starts. Theremainingpositionswill continuetobeusedtosupportvisitinginstructorsandadditionalGTApositionstoprovideteaching capacityasneededacrosstheCollegeaswellasotherstrategicCOSMinitiatives
Finally,IwanttoprovideanupdateontheCOSMFY2026Budgetandhowweareplanningtouseour funds Currently,COSMhas~$22milliondollarsoffundsincludingthesummerinstructionalbudget, thetemporaryinstructionalbudget(overloadsandadjuncts),andsalarysavingsfromvacantlines. ThesalarysavingsistheremainingfundsafterAcademicAffairstakes20%andwe’vecoveredthe visitinginstructors.
Thetablebelowoutlineshowweplantospendthosefunds.
FY2026COSMBudgetPlannedExpenses
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
The2026GeorgiaSouthernRegionalScienceOlympiadTournamentisscheduledforSaturday, February28,2026!Thisexcitingeventwillbringtogetherupto18outstandinghighschoolteamsfrom acrossourregionastheycompeteforaplaceintheGeorgiaStateScienceOlympiadTournament.
Asweprepareforanothergreatyear,wearelookingforeventsupervisorsandvolunteerstohelpmake thistournamentasuccess DivisionC(highschool)willfeature23engagingevents andseveralhave changedthisyear!Youcanviewthefulllistof2026eventsontheScienceOlympiadwebsite
Ifyou’reinterestedingettinginvolved,pleasecompletetheGoogleFormtoindicatewhichevent(s)you wouldliketosuperviseandyourpreferredtimeblock.Ifyou’dliketoreviewtheeventrulesbefore deciding,justletmeknowwhicheventyou’reconsidering,andI’llbehappytosendthemtoyou.
Yourtimeandenthusiasmmakearealdifference thestudentstrulybenefitfromtheexpertiseand encouragementofdedicatedvolunteerslikeyou.Thankyouforhelpinguscontinuethiswonderful traditionofscience,discovery,andteamworkatGeorgiaSouthern!
Sincerely,
Mike Director,GeorgiaSouthernRegionalTournament
COSM WORK ORDERS
COSMhaslaunchedanewWorkOrderFormthatwillnowbeusedforbothCOSMandCCRLrequests. Tobetterprioritizeneeds,requestswillbecategorizedas:
Emergency–Needstobecompletedthesameday
Urgent–Needstobecompletedwithin72hours
Routine
Other
When submitting a request, please include as much detail as possible so that Darrin Moore and Sam Futch can properly assess the situation. They may follow up with you if additional information is needed Forquestions,pleasecontact:
DarrinMoore,InstrumentationMaintenanceandResearchSpecialist darrinmoore@georgiasouthern.edu
SamFutch,DirectorofElectronics&ResearchTechnology cfutch@georgiasouthern.edu
TheWorkOrderFormlinkwillbeavailableineveryCOSMWeeklymovingforward Wealsorecommend bookmarkingitforquickaccess
GS PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOTS
Ifyourcurrentheadshotisalittleoutdated(ordoesn’tquitelooklikeyouanymore),now’stheperfect timetoupdateit!
We’reworkingonrefreshingeveryone’sphotosforthewebsite,sopleasebookatimeslotifyouneeda newheadshot.
FACULTY WELFARE INFORMATION
Dr. Geneva DeMars, the COSM representative, is requesting feedback from COSM faculty. The Faculty Welfare Committee of Georgia Southern University invites all faculty to share input as they revise the annualfacultyreportforms.Thisrevisionprocesstakesintoaccount:
1 the consolidation with East Georgia State faculty who have previously established reporting standards,and
2 the evolving expectations of the USG Board of Regents regarding faculty development reporting acrossallfiveareas
Please take a moment to complete the brief four-question survey linked below to share your thoughts andconcerns.Yourfeedbackisgreatlyappreciated!
https://forms.gle/sF9bqqSVBbhBL7kt8
COSM NEWS
Drs.JianzhouHe,MarkdelaCerna,MitchWeilandandWillLynchrepresentedGeorgiaSouthernUniversity andtheCollege'sPh.D.programsattheSoutheast/SouthwestRegionalMeetingoftheAmcerican ChemicalSociety. ThefacultywererecruitingforthePh.D.programsinBiomedicalScience, EnvironmentalScienceandMaterialsScienceatthegraduateschoolfair. TheSE/SWregionalmeeting hasover1700registrantsandthefacultywereverybusymeetingwithandintroducingourgraduate programstofacultyandstudentsalike.
COSM NEWS
EagleMedrecentlyhadtheirMCGStudentPanel:SliceandAdvicewhichwasagreatsuccess!Theyhad fourMedicalCollegeofGeorgiastudentsjoinforanengagingandinsightfulevening.AlumniRylanArtis (’24) and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dittmer (’21), along with current students Ruth Nya and Anna Brown, shared theirjourneystomedicalschoolandofferedvaluableadviceontheapplicationprocess,studytips,and whatlifeasamedstudentisreallylike
Studentswhoattendedaskedinsightfulquestions,builtmeaningfulconnections,andleftfeelinginspired abouttheirownmedicaljourneys Weextendoursincerethankstoourguestspeakersforsharingtheir experiences, to Magnolia Coastlands AHEC for providing the pizza and supporting the event, and to everyonewhojoinedusforaneveningofgreatconversation(andgreatpizza!)attheScienceCenter.
AIM: A lightning talk is a brief presentation that focuses on communicating the main idea and key takeaways from a research project or topic, while helping participants identify potential research areas and opportunities for further exploration.
DATE: Friday, October 31, 2025
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
VISITUSONLINEATGEORGIASOUTHERN.EDU/COSM
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