School of Engineering Dean Michael Klein Returns to the Faculty

February 22, 2008

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Dean Michael Klein, who has served for 10 successful years as dean of the School of Engineering, has informed me of his decision to return to the faculty on June 30, 2008.

Under Dean Klein's leadership, the School of Engineering (SOE) has experienced strategic growth in enrollment, programs, and new faculty. The SOE curriculum and the technological environment that supports it have kept pace with the rapid advances in the disciplines, and the introductory undergraduate coursework has been significantly revised and strengthened to provide a comprehensive first-year engineering experience. External support for the school has been strong: special funding from the Whitaker Foundation, a $15 million National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center program, and two successful Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) programs have provided the school with important resources to advance excellence and launch new initiatives. Last year, Rutgers ranked 12th among all colleges and universities in support from the National Science Foundation’s Engineering directorate.

In addition, state support for tissue engineering and nanostructured materials has stimulated new collaborative research in these important fields, and the SOE's selection as the site for the New Jersey Governor's School in Engineering has brought prestige and visibility to the school.

Outreach to industry has significantly increased during Dean Klein’s tenure, through participation in such projects as the newly formed campuswide Center for Innovative Ventures for Emerging Technologies, which focuses on research translation and industrial interaction. Engineering facilities have also expanded, most recently with the construction of a state-of-the-art building to support growing research programs in biomedical engineering and packaging engineering, and a new academic and research facility housing the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation and first-year engineering.

Board of Governors Professor Yogesh Jaluria, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has graciously agreed to serve as interim dean for the school, beginning July 1, 2008, while a national search for a new dean is conducted. We will move quickly to establish a search committee for the dean of the School of Engineering. Vice President Michael Pazzani will lead the search effort, and SOE faculty members will be appointed to the search committee in accordance with the bylaws of the faculty of the School of Engineering. In addition, some non-engineering faculty and administrators will be asked to serve.

We are grateful to Dean Klein for his dedicated service and for all that the School of Engineering has achieved under his leadership. Please join me in congratulating him on his accomplishments and wishing him well as he returns full-time to research and teaching.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey