Contact: Phil Hearn
Mississippi State scientist, professor and administrator Kirk Schulz will become the new dean of the university's James Worth Bagley College of Engineering Jan. 1.
Currently director of MSU's Swalm School of Chemical Engineering and holder of the school's Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. Chair since 2001, Schulz's appointment is expected to be formally confirmed by the state College Board in December.
"Kirk Schulz has served Mississippi State well as a talented and energetic department head," Provost Peter Rabideau said in announcing the appointment.
"He will bring those same skills to the position of dean, and I am confident the college will make great strides toward its ambitious goals under his leadership," added Rabideau, predicting a new interim head of the chemical engineering school also will be in place by Jan. 1.
Eastman Chemical Co. created the Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. Chair in chemical engineering in 2000 to honor the Macon native, who retired as chairman and chief executive officer of the Kingsport, Tenn.-based firm in 2001. Schulz will relinquish that endowed chair as he moves up.
As college dean, Schulz will hold the Earnest W. and Mary Ann Deavenport Jr. Chair, funded through a $2 million endowment established by the 1960 MSU chemical engineering graduate and his wife earlier this year to provide a salary supplement and additional financial support for all future MSU engineering deans. Mary Ann is a native of Bay Springs and a University of Southern Mississippi graduate.
The dean's position became vacant in June with the retirement of A. Wayne Bennett, who had held the job for eight years. Upon the Oct. 30 retirement of associate dean Robert Taylor, mechanical engineering department head Glenn Steele was named interim dean, pending a national search to fill the job on a permanent basis.
Bagley ranks in the top 10 percent nationally in research expenditures--24th out of approximately 322 engineering colleges or schools. The college enrolls more than 2,100 students studying in 10 academic majors.
The college is named in honor of MSU alumnus and Texas resident James Bagley, who along with his wife Jean established a $25 million endowment in 2002. Their gift remains the largest single financial commitment in MSU's 126-year history.
"I feel much honored to have been selected as the next dean of the Bagley College of Engineering," said Schulz. "One of my primary goals will be to continue to increase the national prominence of engineering at MSU, with an ultimate goal of having the college recognized as a top 50 engineering school in U.S. News and World Report."
A Norfolk, Va., native and 1981 Norfolk Christian High School graduate, Schulz earned a bachelor's degree in 1986 and a doctorate in 1991, both in chemical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. An MSU faculty member since 2001, he conducts research in areas that include surface science and catalysis.
Schulz was named last summer to the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the prestigious Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, which certifies some 2,500 programs at more than 550 colleges and universities nationwide. He is one of only four EAC members who represent the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
As director of the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, Schulz led the development of a strategic plan with quantifiable goals designed to place the school in the top 50 chemical engineering programs nationally by 2007. He also spearheaded efforts to improve the school's alumni and corporate relations, increase student and faculty diversity, and bolster support for 11 tenure-track faculty.
Before coming to MSU, Schulz served on the Michigan Technological University faculty from 1995-2001, chairing the chemical engineering department during his final three years there. He was an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota from 1991-95, and directed that institution's doctoral program in energy engineering for a year.
Schulz's wife Noel is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU. They have two sons, Tim, 14, and Andrew, 10.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Kirk Schulz at (662) 325-7183.