Clay Walker, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Oral Biology, has accepted the appointment of Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, effective March 1.
Since joining the college in 1981, Walker has been very involved in shared governance at the college and university levels, and has a thorough understanding of the issues affecting college faculty and how to achieve academic success in the clinical and research arenas.
Walker earned his bachelors degree in Microbiology (1972) and his doctorate in Anaerobic Microbiology (1977) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. He completed his post-doctoral work at The Forsyth Institute.
From 1979 to 1981, he was junior faculty at The Forsyth Dental Center and Harvard University in Boston, Mass., before joining the University of Florida 30 years ago. In addition to serving on the College of Dentistry faculty, he is an adjunct professor with IFAS and a graduate faculty member of the UF Genetics Institute.
Walker will continue his research endeavors which focus on biofilm formation and the increased resistance to antibiotics that occurs in biofilms. He is also a collaborator in the study of aggressive periodontitis in children as well as the metagenomics of periodontitis in HIV positive patients. His new responsibilities include providing advice and guidance to the dean, department chairs, center directors and individual faculty on matters affecting our faculty with an emphasis on the effective mentoring of junior faculty.
The focus of the position is to facilitate the academic life of the faculty and to foster a positive, interactive and vibrant work environment within the college.