Dean Leah Jamieson

To:              Executive Vice Presidents, Chancellors, Vice Presidents, Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors and Heads of Schools, Divisions, Departments and Offices

From:          Deba Dutta, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity

Date:           August 15, 2016

 

I am writing to inform you that Leah Jamieson, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering and the Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will complete her term and step down from her deanship effective July 1, 2017.  She will transition to full-time faculty duties in the ECE department.  By then, Leah will have served as dean for 11 years; she has been a member of the faculty in the College of Engineering since 1976.

Leah has designed, developed and directed groundbreaking programs for the College of Engineering.  She is the co-founder and past director of Purdue’s Engineering Projects in Community Service, known as EPICS, which has become an international model for service-learning.  She served as co-chair of Engineer of 2020, which addressed the global and technological changes that will shape engineering over the next 20 years, and established a new framework for undergraduate engineering education.  More recently, she has provided leadership for the dramatic growth in the college as part of the Purdue Moves initiatives, increasing faculty size by more than 90 and new undergraduate enrollment by 1,300 to date.  I am pleased to have her leadership for another year as we complete the planned expansion.

When Leah was appointed as dean a decade ago, she said, “Now I would like to focus on impact — that is to transform this growth into accomplishments through the work of our superb faculty, staff and students.”  Leah has guided and inspired the faculty, staff and students through extraordinary achievements impacting this campus and our world.  Under her leadership, the College of Engineering has improved in reputation and visibility, and is well positioned to continue its trajectory of excellence.  Please join me in thanking Leah Jamieson for all of her contributions thus far to the college and to Purdue.

In the fall semester, I will announce plans to begin a national search to fill the critically important position of dean of the College of Engineering.  In the meantime, I look forward to working with Leah through the coming year.