UF dentistry professor appointed associate dean for faculty affairs

Clay Walker, Ph.D., a professor in the department of oral biology at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, has accepted the appointment of associate dean for faculty affairs.

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 doctorate in anaerobic microbiology in 1977 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He completed his postdoctoral work at The Forsyth Institute.

He was a faculty member at The Forsyth Dental Center and Harvard University 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 the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences 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 members on matters affecting faculty with an emphasis on mentoring.

The focus of the position is to improve the academic lives of the faculty and to foster a positive, interactive and vibrant work environment within the college.