By Janelle Poore
Utah Valley State College appointed Tom McFarland dean of the School of Computer Sciences and Engineering last week.
Faculty members unanimously nominated McFarland to the position for his ability to work well with others and his extensive experience in the field.
“Tom has some wonderful people skills,” said Bruce Parker, associate vice president for academic affairs and chair of the search committee responsible for hiring McFarland. “His background in computer science and programming makes him very well-suited [for the position].
“All of the comments came out in favor of hiring Tom as the top candidate,” Parker said. “There was a lot of support for him.”
McFarland has served as interim dean for the school for the past 18 months and will undergo the task of integrating two recently added departments into the school.
“His biggest task this next year is going to be to bring all of these diverse departments together and have us function as a team to be able to produce outstanding graduates in all of these areas,” said Gordon Stokes, associate dean for the School of Computer Sciences and Engineering. “Our ultimate goal is to have all these accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).”
McFarland was recruited to be the founding department chair for the multimedia communications technology program at UVSC, which recently became a four-year program, Stokes said.
“He has helped … bring together a high-quality faculty,” Stokes said. “It [the program] covers a broad range of multimedia … we cover digital media in all its aspects.”
McFarland, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., received his bachelor”s degree in computer science and psychology from the Air Force Academy before attending Webster University where he received two master”s degrees in human resource management and computer systems management.
Before joining UVSC faculty 10 years ago, McFarland worked with the military in designing information systems and software development. He also designed information and multimedia systems for multiple Utah companies.
The school focuses on providing hands-on learning and experience to their students.
“We are the academic school responsible for high technology,” McFarland said in a press release. “We want to continue to be innovative while still being centered on the student.”
McFarland is currently working with the Dance Team”s multimedia systems touring in Australia.
