The College of Engineering and Applied Science announced the finalists vying for the college’s deanship on Wednesday.
Finalists for the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s unfilled deanship are holding public presentations from December 11-17.
The presentations will take place in Room 138 of the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center from 4:10-5 p.m. and will be broadcast online for live viewing on UW’s WyoCast system. The videos will also be stored for later viewing.
Colonel Neal Barlow, acting chief scientist at the United States Air Force Space
Command and former Engineering Division Chair at the United States Air Force Academy, presents first this afternoon.
Next Thomas Hanley, professor of engineering and former provost at Auburn University, will present on Monday.
Michael V. Pishko, the director of the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing and professor of biomedical engineering at Texas A&M University, will present on Wednesday.
Pishko was the only finalist available for comment on the job. Pishko said that he understands the importance of the university within the state of Wyoming.
“The position is an exciting one, a real opportunity to work with students, faculty, staff and alumni to provide a world-class education, do cutting edge research and help Wyoming’s citizens and businesses. I’ve worked at land grant institutions my entire career so I understood (sic) the impact that an institution such as UW has on the state.”
The College of Engineering and Applied Science’s current interim dean, Al Rodi, took over from the previous interim dean, Khaled Gasem in July of this year. The college hasn’t had a permanent dean since Robert Ettema left the position in August 2013.
Michael Harden, a student in the college, said that he has not noticed any impact on his classes as a result of the inconsistency at the dean’s position.
“I haven’t noticed any impact on my education during the transition. Class appears the same as it always has been,” Harden said.
The committee charged with hiring the dean hopes to receive input on each of the candidates. Evaluations can be submitted through a link found on the university’s news page.
