Search under way for Engineering School dean

By Charlotte Crystal

The University has launched a major national search to replace Richard W. Miksad as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Miksad will complete 10 years as dean next spring.

“Dean Miksad has served the University well, and we owe a debt of gratitude for his service and accomplishments,” said Gene D. Block, vice president and provost.

“The Engineering School and its faculty have had a truly significant run of major successes over the last nine years, both in research and in academics. And the Engineering School has come to play an important role in determining the future success of the University as a whole.”

Block has named Thomas C. Skalak, chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, to head the search committee, which will work through the fall semester to identify candidates for the job.

The search committee plans to make its final recommendation to Block and President John T. Casteen III by mid-December, so the appointment can be made early in the spring for the fall of 2004.

“The successful candidate in this search will face an unprecedented opportunity in science and engineering at U.Va., given the level of commitment to investment in scholarly activities by the Board of Visitors, the president and the provost,” Skalak said. “Our top priorities for the new dean include someone who can help us build substantial new external relationships that lead to capital fund raising, which in turn will enable us to build new programs and augment some of the special programs already in place at the school.”

A nationally known executive search firm, Baker-Parker and Associates, based in Atlanta, will assist in the process. The firm has completed more than 300 academic searches, including 15 university presidents and 10 engineering deans at major institutions.

The U.Va. search committee members are: Skalak, chairman; Block; Joanne Dugan, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Roseanne Ford, professor of chemical engineering; Joan Fry, special assistant to the president; Nicholas Garber, professor of civil engineering; Dr. Arthur “Tim” Garson, vice president and dean of the School of Medicine; Douglas Garson, vice president, board of directors, Virginia Engineering Foundation; R. Ariel Gomez, vice president for research and graduate studies; Barry Horowitz, professor of systems and information engineering; Robert Hull, professor of materials science and engineering; Deborah Johnson, professor of applied ethics; Anita Jones, professor of computer science; Garrick Louis, assistant professor of systems and information engineering; and Pamela Norris, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Two student members — one graduate, one undergraduate — also will be named shortly to the search committee, Skalak said.