16 October 2018
Edna Newey
The College of Engineering and Applied Science is looking for a new dean to replace R. “Dan” Dandapani. The committee to select the new dean is headed by the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Peter Braza.
“This is a time of excitement, it’s important to the path of success,” said Braza.
Xiaobo “Charles” Zhou is currently serving as the interim dean.
According to Dandapani, during his time as dean the Engineering program became one of the best engineering schools in Colorado, and is the only one operating positively in a financial sense. Dandapani said that the engineering program is the top research facility on campus.
Under Dandapandi, the school has doubled in size and accredits some of their opportunities on that growth.
“Two or three years into [my deanship] the National Institute of Research came to us and asked if we wanted funding,” said Dandapandi. “They didn’t realize that we were a research institution.”
Dandapandi is retiring to spend time with his daughter and grandson in California.
Braza is looking for someone with experience in leadership and fundraising. Research relies heavily on funding for success, so an ideal dean would be able to acquire sources of grants and donations.
Braza, who chairs the search committee for the new dead of Engineering, is one of eleven other members of the committee. Only ten members will have voting capabilities.
“Within a few days of the job posting, there were already over a dozen applicants,” said Braza.
According to Braza, education is the foremost priority for the faculty and staff.
For this reason, students should feel free to voice their concerns and suggestions to faculty and staff.
While there have been significant gains in terms of innovation for UCCS in general, including the Bachelors of Innovation, there is no intention to take a step back from advancement.
“The new dean, whoever they are, are going to need to hit the ground running,” said Braza.