Dean search for engineering school winding down

After six months, the search for the next dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science is about to come to a close.

After six months, the search for the next dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science is about to come to a close.

Last week, two of the four final candidates, Dr. Atam Dhawan and Dr. Renjeng Su, visited campus to tour the college and meet with faculty and students before the search committee announces its choice for dean within the next two weeks.

Atam Dhawan
For Dhawan, the progress in research and academics at Portland State was what drew him to applying for the dean position.

“I was impressed with the presence of the Maseeh College of Engineering’s interdisciplinary research,” Dhawan said. “It has created grounds to make itself known as a national presence.”

He said that if he were to become the dean he would work to continue that interdisciplinary research, such as the studies of environment and engineering. He wishes to reach out to community as well.

“The partnership with industry will further create a positive impact in the community,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering in Roorkee, India, and received his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Manitoba in Canada in 1985.

For more than nine years, Dhawan has been a professor and chairperson of electrical and computer engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He has received numerous awards, including the Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award in 1992 and IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Early Career Achievement Award in 1995.

In an open discussion with Portland State students last Tuesday, Dhawan addressed issues of increasing enrollment in the engineering and computer science program, especially among graduate students.

At the discussion, Dhawan said that one of the keys to strengthening the Maseeh College is to “enhance our outreach plan to domestic students as well as international students.”

He said holding more events put on by the College of Engineering and Computer Science, informing potential students about the program and having accelerated graduate programs could be some ways to attract undergraduates to continue on as graduate students at PSU.

Dhawan sees further establishing research centers for the college as a way to attract students to Maseeh as well. 

“My first job and priority is to establish research centers and to bring resources to them and to bring resources to the faculty,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan said that one of the greatest rewards in his career has been “to discover new knowledge and to help people learn new knowledge, and to help carry on the flag of knowledge.”

He said if chosen he hopes he will “inspire” faculty and students to reap those same rewards.

Renjeng Su
Su said that the notion that “it’s the alignment of strength and vision of the university to build a great university” is what brought him to seek the position of dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.

He believes, as does fellow dean candidate Atam Dhawan, that working with the community will be key to strengthening the college.

Su is currently the dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado. He has also taught at Texas Tech University and worked at the NASA Ames Research Center.

Some of his accolades include receiving the Halliburton Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 1983 and being elected into the Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1995.

He has a holistic approach to leadership and stressed the necessity to “not lose sight of long-term goals,” at a presentation he gave to a group of faculty and students last Thursday.

“It’s more important to think about influence, then growth,” Su said, commenting on how having influence requires balance between strong academics and strong research. “If you really aim for influence, you cannot neglect good teaching.”

Despite some concerns from some members about the college continuing to grow even during these economic times, Su was optimistic.

“I think it’s a difficult time. I don’t want to sugarcoat it, but I think it’s at these times when it’s easier for people to pull together,” he said.

This Tuesday and Wednesday dean candidate Dr. Mark Law will be visiting the campus, followed by Dr. Debra S. Larson on Thursday and Friday.