5 finalists nominated to become Illinois State University’s first College of Engineering deans | Jobs Vox

This month students, faculty and staff can meet the five finalists vying to be the first deans of Illinois State University’s new College of Engineering.

Each of the five finalists will participate in an open forum during the campus visit. Here is the schedule of those visits. Here are the finalists:

• Paul D. Plotkowski, Founding Dean and Professor, Padanos College of Engineering and Computing, Grand Valley State University in Michigan
• Don Peterson, Dean, College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Northern Illinois University
• Thomas Keyser, Dean, Engineering, Technology and Management, Oregon Institute of Technology
• Bruce Berdnier, former Lohr Endowed Dean of the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, South Dakota State University
• Ramaraja Ramasamy, Associate Dean, College of Engineering, University of Georgia (UGA)

ISU says its new College of Engineering with an equity lens to help close long-standing gaps in enrollment, retention and graduation of underrepresented and underserved students in the engineering field was designed. ISU is targeting the fall of 2025 to enroll the first class of an estimated 130 students, increasing to 520 students by the fourth year.

Next steps include a national search for department chairs, an associate dean and a diversity officer.