On Oct. 31, 2023, Dr. Lee S. Yudin officially ends his tenure as dean of the College of Natural & Applied Sciences and director of the college's land-grant functions of Cooperative Extension & Outreach and the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center. He has been the longest serving dean of the college and the only dean since it officially became the College of Natural & Applied Sciences in 2003.

 

People have asked, why Guam? How did you end up here in the first place? That story is a long one but can be highlighted with a few significant background points. 

I was raised in Albuquerque, NM, and graduated high school at the age of 17 in 1971. Two weeks after graduation, I found myself with one of my high school friends spending the summer in Europe with the “bible” back then called “Europe on $5 a Day.” I don't think you can buy a can of soda in Europe today for $5.

The European travels ended with me on a communal farm in Israel. This farm is located where the Jordan River flows freely out of the Sea of Galilee to its final ending point into the Dead Sea. Degania Aleph was primarily an agricultural community. The major crop in Degania is bananas, but they also grow hectares of avocadoes, grapefruit, and olives. They still raise poultry and dairy cows. But I ended up working in the date fields — I am now 18. I was the proud member of the famous “Date Danglers.” I can proudly say, I know more about date production than 98% of today’s earthly population. 

Israel taught me about farming and my first real love for agriculture.  

Now to a flight from Tel Aviv to Nairobi, Kenya, in 1974. A one-month planned layover on my journey to India that lasted two years.

“Do you want to teach in a small secondary school near Lake Victoria?” I was asked one evening walking down the street in Nairobi. 

I kind of chuckled to myself, “Absolutely, if they let high school graduates teach?”

I looked over to my new friend who I recently met in Kenya. 

“Hey, I will do this if you will?”

Ross said, “Sure.” 

So from 1974 to 1976, I was a teacher at Kanyamfwa Secondary School, a few kilometers from Lake Victoria, just outside of Kendu Bay. What an amazing two years. 

Kenya taught me about education and my desire to become a certified teacher one day.

The journey to India and around the world did finally take place, and now I am back in Albuquerque in 1977. Now, who is good in math?: High school graduate in 1971 to my first year as a freshman at the University of New Mexico in 1977 — how many gap years? Six! 

I have been blessed with so much in my life. Being offered an Assistant Professor position as an Extension Entomologist in November 1989 in Guam, was blending my love for agriculture and my love for education into one. I applied for a tenure-track faculty position in September 1989, and I have never looked back. However, I did have to look at a map to see where Guam was back then!

It’s now 2023, and I am still in college — 46 years later. And still a student of life. 

My simple message is not to pass up opportunities when they are given to you. I turn 70 years old in a few days. So many of you who are reading this newsletter have been a very big part of my journey on Guam — SYM. My husband, Joey, and my children, Anah and Wyatt, keep me safe. I try to keep them safe as well. The world is not the same as it was in 1971, but we can surely pray for peace and for the betterment of all mankind. 

To all the administrators, faculty, staff, and students over the years, thank you. Many of you have played a significant role during my tenure at the University of Guam.

I wish Dr. Rachael Leon Guerrero all the best as the new Dean/Director of CNAS. I know you will make us even better during your tenure. 

Lee S. Yudin
Dean/Director
College of Natural & Applied Sciences
2003-2023