Position Statement

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The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), an honors university within the University System of Maryland, seeks an accomplished, energetic, and inspirational leader as its next Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT). The Dean has an opportunity – building on the University’s distinctive strengths and extraordinary momentum – to shape and lead the College to a further enhanced position of national and international prominence.

Under the leadership of President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, UMBC has gained national recognition as a rising research institution deeply committed to undergraduate education and an innovative pioneer in promoting racial and gender diversity. The University has doubled externally funded research in the last five years to a current annual level of $80 million, developed a remarkable collection of research laboratories, interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, and excellent teaching and research facilities, and been classified as a Carnegie Doctoral/Research Extensive University. UMBC is home of the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, a premier program for attracting highly prepared under-represented minorities to careers in science and engineering, and a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award to increase the participation of women in academic science and engineering careers.

Reporting to the Provost, the Dean is the senior academic and administrative officer of the College with approximately 100 faculty teaching 2,500 undergraduates and 700 graduate students in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science and Electrical Engineering; Information Systems; and Mechanical Engineering. The Dean is responsible for setting the College’s strategic, operational, and financial direction, sharpening the College’s focus, and cultivating areas of international excellence. The Dean will provide leadership in fundraising matched to the ambitious goals of the College and will work to strengthen ties with other distinguished research centers, government laboratories, and industry. The Dean will also ensure the ongoing support of high quality instruction and research. In addition to the management of academic and business functions, the Dean will participate in campus-wide shared governance processes and will be a member of the University’s administrative team.

A 14-member search committee has been convened to conduct the search and recommend finalists to the Provost. The University is assisted in the search by the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller.

Founded in 1966, UMBC is an honors university within the University System of Maryland and a research institution with a profound commitment to liberal education and its relevance to contemporary life. Since assuming the Presidency in 1992, Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, has articulated a bold vision and set an ambitious course for the University. Today, UMBC is a rapidly rising institution, growing in research expenditures and stature, quality of undergraduate and graduate students, and breadth and scope of educational programs. Defining a new breed of American public research university, UMBC blends academic excellence, scholarly research, and an active commitment to attracting minorities and women to science and engineering.

UMBC enrolls approximately 12,000 students; employs approximately 2,100 faculty and staff; and, operates with an annual budget of about $310 million. The University offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in the physical and life sciences, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, mathematics, information technology, and the humanities and visual and performing arts. Major educational units include the Colleges of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Engineering and Information Technology; Graduate School; and the Erickson School of Aging Studies.

As an honors university, UMBC works to attract motivated students and rewards them with the resources and personal attention needed to ensure success. At the undergraduate level, students can take advantage of such innovative offerings as the honors college, university research awards, the scholars program, and living and learning communities, to enrich their educational experience. Over 9,000 motivated and talented undergraduate students are enrolled in the 37 major, 32 minor, and multiple certificate programs available. Undergraduate admission is highly selective; the average SAT top quartile was 1385 in the 2004 freshman class.

At the graduate level, UMBC offers a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary master’s and doctoral programs which emphasize selected areas of the sciences, engineering, information technology, human services, and public policy and link closely to the undergraduate programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and engineering. UMBC has a close relationship with other University System of Maryland campuses, including the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and the UM Baltimore professional schools, including the schools of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and social work located in downtown Baltimore, which are readily available to UMBC graduate students. Currently, UMBC produces approximately 70 Ph.D.s per year.

Promoting diversity at all levels to create a campus community that is intellectually, culturally, and ethnically rich, is central to the institution’s mission and identity. In 1996, UMBC was among the first institutions in the country to receive the White House Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, largely based on the success of the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. UMBC is also a 2005 recipient of an ABET Presidential Award for diversity. Today, UMBC reports an undergraduate student population that is 37% minority. At the graduate level, about 16% of students are from under-represented groups while one-half are women. UMBC is leading a $2.5 million NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant to increase the number and diversity of science and engineering Ph.D. graduates who pursue academic careers and has been recognized by the Council of Graduate Schools/Peterson’s for its success in building a more inclusive graduate community. UMBC is also home to the Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT), established in 1998 to promote women’s full participation in all aspects of information technology. Over the last five years, UMBC has doubled the number of women faculty in science and engineering tenure-track and tenured positions. UMBC was ranked 5th in the U.S. for diversity in student population in the 2005 Edition of The Princeton Review’s Best 357 Colleges.

This diverse and talented faculty is the intellectual force powering the institution’s rapid advancement as a national research university. Current UMBC faculty numbers over 650 full-time and 300 part-time members in the arts and humanities, engineering, sciences, and social sciences. Their achievements in teaching, basic and applied research, creative endeavors, and service, have received national and international recognition, including awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Fulbright Scholar Program. Additionally, UMBC boasts the only Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at a Maryland public university.

UMBC’s current research enterprise includes more than 25 centers and institutes engaged in basic and applied research that spans such broad topics as earth sciences, photonics, urban environment, astrophysics, and gerontology. Sponsored contracts and grants have grown dramatically, totaling nearly $80 million in 2005. Of all U.S. colleges and universities, UMBC is ranked in the top 5% in sponsored research funding; the University ranks #16 among U.S. universities in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funding. Interdisciplinary research and collaboration figure prominently in such representative centers as UMBC’s Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research, Center for Health Program Development and Management, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, and Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology.

UMBC has also committed significant resources to apply this dynamic research engine to spark economic development within Maryland and across the nation. The UMBC Technology Research Center (http://umbc.edu/Business/Research) is the technology transfer hub of the institution and offers a range of programs, facilities, and services to connect with industry and to promote commercial activity. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development, the Greater Baltimore Alliance, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, as well as area foundations and corporations, all collaborate with the UMBC Tech Center to attract and retain high-potential start-up and emerging companies. Key elements of the Tech Center include a high-tech business incubator; a new 41-acre research and technology park, bwtech@UMBC, adjacent to the university and just six miles west of Baltimore/Washington International Airport; and a fully staffed legal and business advisory function.

As UMBC has enhanced its research and teaching enterprise, it has also undertaken an aggressive building campaign, spending over $300 million since 1999 to further develop its 500-acre campus and to improve its facilities and infrastructure. New buildings in engineering and information technology, physics, and public policy, and major renovations of its biology and chemistry facilities have been completed. Close to a million square feet of new space for student apartments, a new 148,000 square foot, $35 million University Commons, and new athletic field and stadium facilities, have helped to transform UMBC into a residential-based campus environment. Looking to the future, the State has authorized preliminary planning funding for a new Performing Arts and Humanities Building.

UMBC is located in a beautiful suburban setting amidst one of the greatest concentrations of commercial, cultural, and scientific activity in the nation. The University is ten minutes from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, 15 minutes from downtown Baltimore, and 45 minutes from Washington, D.C. Please visit http://umbc.edu for more information on UMBC.

Established in 1985, the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT), was launched with ambitious research and educational goals. Two decades later, COEIT hosts more than one hundred faculty housed in five departments serving 3,200 students. COEIT offers six undergraduate and eight graduate programs, employs approximately 30 staff, and operates with an annual state supported budget of nearly $17 million.

The College comprises the Departments of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science and Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; and Information Systems. In the 2004-2005 academic year, COEIT enrolled approximately 2,500 undergraduate and 700 graduate students. During that same period, 229 students received undergraduate degrees and 176 received graduate degrees (152 M.S. and 24 Ph.D.). 18% of the College’s undergraduate students are women, 6% are international students, and 16% are under-represented minority students. At the graduate level, 26% are women, 56% international, and 12% under-represented minority students. The College is one of the largest producers of undergraduate IT degrees in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. UMBC has been designated by the National Security Agency as a center of excellence in Information Assurance Education.

While the College has grown steadily in its twenty-year history, it has also maintained and advanced high standards of student quality, performance, and outcome. Fall 2004 incoming freshmen had an average SAT score of 1220, and an average GPA of 3.5. The College has reached out to local communities to promote engineering education at the K-12 level, creating a pipeline of talented prospective engineering students.

Research programs based in the College represent about $10 million in annual expenditures and are conducted across all five departments. The College’s research enterprise is supported by its state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories, including a $30 million Engineering and Computer Science Building opened in 1992, a new $40 million Information Technology and Engineering building that opened in 2003, and a completely renovated facility in the Technology Research Center.

The College strives to provide an outstanding education to talented students in the fields of engineering, computer science, and information systems, in order to prepare them for future careers in these fields in industry, government, or academia. The academic curriculum is supported by the unique features of the UMBC education experience, including special mentoring and undergraduate research opportunities.

The Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate programs leading to B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering. At the undergraduate level, two distinct tracks are offered: Traditional and Biotechnology/Bioengineering. The young and energetic faculty is comprised of greater than 50% women and includes recipients of the NSF CAREER Award and the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award. Two new faculty members joined the department in 2005, bringing the department faculty numbers to nine.

The Department is deeply committed to both teaching and research. Given to its size, undergraduates benefit from small class sizes, faculty access, and numerous opportunities to participate in research. In addition, several unique, externally funded educational initiatives are focused on mentoring, curriculum development and outreach. Departmental research is focused in biochemical and biomedical engineering and covers a wide range of areas including biosensors, cellular engineering, biomaterials and tissue engineering, advanced separation processes, modeling of biological systems, proteomics and genomics, fermentation, and engineering education. In 2005, sponsored research totaled approximately $2.3M from a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and industrial sources.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) is the newest departmental addition to the College of Engineering and Information Technology. The Department was formally established in 2003, with the approval of the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering soon following. The Department is developing a combined B.S.-M.S. program in collaboration with the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. The Department is in initial growth mode and is actively building its research and graduate program. CEE faculty currently number four members who focus on environmental engineering and water resources. External research funding exceeds $1M, with grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and NSF, as well as the private sector. CEE recently completed the renovation of four laboratories (over 2,000 sq. ft.) and a computer lab and has secured an NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant for the purchase of several high-end analytical instruments. All CEE faculty members hold appointments in the University of Maryland System-wide Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science Graduate Program, through which UMBC graduate students can alternatively pursue M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Science while working under the mentorship of the CEE faculty.

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) is one of the largest on campus, offering degree programs in Computer Science (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.), Computer Engineering (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) and Electrical Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.). The Department has 37 tenure track faculty, nine research faculty and post-doctoral members, eight lecturers, nine staff and 15 part-time instructors. There are currently 1,000 undergraduate majors and 250 graduate students.

The faculty are active in research with overlapping groups concentrating in artificial intelligence, graphics and visualization, computer networks and systems, mobile and pervasive computing, database and knowledge management, security, communications and signal processing, microelectronics, VLSI design and testing, photonics, and optical communication. Much of the research is done in collaboration with other departments and programs at UMBC and the nearby UMB Medical School. Current research expenditures exceed $5M per year with support coming from a mix of federal (e.g., Army Research Office (ARO), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NSF, DoD, NASA) and industrial sources.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate programs leading to B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Research is focused in biomechanics, design and manufacturing systems, mechanics and materials, and thermo-fluid mechanics and is conducted in 13 research laboratories across the Department. Collaborative efforts by mechanical engineering faculty-student research teams have led to number of notable discoveries, including a new kind of percussion drill bit, an automated machine for assembling fireworks, and a controller for a pump with no moving parts. The Department plays a vital role in the design and development of systems that harness energy and motion, with important applications in industries from manufacturing to medicine. Close research partnerships have been built with industry leaders, such as IBM, Motorola, Rohm and Haas, General Motors, and Ford, as well as government agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NASA Goddard Space Center, and the U.S. Army.

The Information Systems Department (IS) is well known for its popular, yet demanding academic programs at UMBC. There are over 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students including more than 50 doctoral students. The Department offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs leading to B.A., B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees. Additionally, an on-line master’s program as well as undergraduate certificate programs have been implemented to address the needs of the working IS professional.

The Department conducts both fundamental and applied research across a broad range of important IS topics. Key research areas include artificial intelligence and knowledge management, database and data mining, decision support systems, human-computer interaction, software engineering, and applications domains (e.g., wireless/mobile computing, health/bio informatics). The Department has experienced significant growth in sponsored research activities in recent years, including support from industry leaders such as IBM and Motorola, as well as federal government agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and the U.S. Department of Education.

The College of Engineering and Information Technology is closely linked with several campus-wide UMBC interdisciplinary research centers and laboratories. The major research centers that are directly related to the College’s mission include:

Focuses on research and technology development in optical communications, optical sensing and devices, and quantum optics. Funded by NASA, the Center collaborates with both government and industry and aims to explore and develop joint commercial applications of new technology. It is emerging as a focus for photonics research in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Aims to advance the understanding of the environmental, social, and economic consequences of the transformation of the urban landscape. The Center pursues research, sponsors symposia and conferences, and supports university teaching programs and K-12 education. Researchers include environmental engineers, scientists, and policy analysts who study the relationships among natural and socioeconomic processes and their effects on public policy. The Center is currently funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Maryland Center for AgroEcology, and Maryland Department of the Environment.

Established in 1998 to provide global leadership in achieving women’s full participation in all aspects of information technology (IT). The Center works to encourage women and girls to prepare for leadership careers in information technology, to utilize technology to communicate about women’s lives and issues, and to promote research into gender and information technology. CWIT has created multiple seminar and educational programs, built a rich web site on women and technology issues, and partners with several UMBC offices to encourage women technology entrepreneurs through the Activate program.

Established in 1995, JCET operates under a cooperative agreement between UMBC and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to conduct research concerning the earth sciences. Members of the JCET faculty, funded by NASA, are required to have joint appointments with academic departments and are expected to teach at least one course every two years. Several faculty from JCET are affiliated with COEIT departments.

The Dean reports to the Provost and is the chief executive officer of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. The Dean participates in campus-wide shared governance processes and is a member of the University’s senior administrative team. The Dean is responsible for all operations of the College and the overall leadership and guidance of its academic enterprise, fundraising, budgetary development and oversight, and administration.

The Dean will be charged with refining and further shaping a strategic vision for COEIT, within the overarching framework of UMBC’s vision and mission, and in collaboration with a broad range of institutional constituencies. The Dean is expected to lead the College in pursuit of excellence in both fundamental and applied research and will promote the ongoing development and enhancement of outstanding educational programs.

The Dean confers with the Provost, collaborates with other Deans, and works with department chairs, program directors, research center heads, faculty, and appropriate university committees to set the strategic and operational direction for the College. The Dean works with faculty, students, and staff and mobilizes their energies toward achievement of the College’s goals. In addition, the Dean will lead the College’s fundraising activities, student and faculty recruitment, industry and government outreach, and strategic marketing. Close collaboration with appropriate administration and faculty is required on all these fronts.

The Dean has financial and administrative management responsibility for the College. The Dean develops and oversees the annual operating budget and implements best-practice financial and administrative management processes for the College. The Office of the Dean is responsible for an eleven-person administrative staff.

Providing effective leadership, management, and mentoring to the College’s faculty and staff, today numbering approximately 130 professionals, is central to the Dean’s charge. The new Dean will have an exceptional opportunity to shape and strengthen the College of Engineering and Information Technology and to contribute to UMBC’s continued upward trajectory.

As the College’s intellectual and strategic leader, the Dean forges and implements a vision for the College of Engineering and Information Technology. UMBC seeks a Dean who can work effectively with key stakeholders—including faculty, administration, staff, and students—to further refine a cohesive College-level strategic direction.

UMBC aspires to be a first-tier, mid-sized research university, yet, like most public institutions, faces limited financial resources. Within this context, the Dean must set a road map for the College, build consensus toward strategic choices, and prioritize investment of resources. To be successful, the new Dean must bring the strategic mindset to conduct an honest and thorough internal analysis of the College’s strengths and weaknesses, an understanding of both current and anticipated directions in education and research, and the courage of conviction to make critical choices for the College. Bringing additional strategic focus to the College’s current activities and its future ambitions is central to the Dean’s charge.

COEIT is a young college with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Over the last twenty years, the College has grown dramatically, expanding rapidly in both educational and research dimensions. Today, UMBC needs a Dean who can lead the College to a more sustainable, mature operational model.

The new Dean must bring a heightened level of financial discipline to the College. At the same time, the Dean will need to identify, develop, and capture new revenue streams and funding sources. Building links to industry, proactively cultivating fundraising opportunities, and facilitating major, cross-departmental funded research projects, will figure prominently in the Dean’s work. UMBC needs an entrepreneurial Dean who can keep an eye on the future while addressing immediate financial and related operational elements of the College of Engineering and Information Technology.

The new Dean will be expected to provide effective academic leadership to a broad range of engineering and IT disciplines and to help inspire their continuing scholarly pursuits within and across departments. Therefore, the new Dean will need to help foster a climate that encourages and supports the full spectrum of rigorous research, from fundamental to applied, across all College departments and through collaborations with other academic units.

As an experienced researcher from industry, government, or academia, the new Dean will bring an understanding of the detailed workings of a research institution, including the internal operational and external market expertise to advance the College’s research aspirations. The Dean will provide counsel and assistance to faculty researchers in the pursuit and management of external contracts and grants. The new Dean will work to create an intellectual environment within COEIT that promotes outstanding research, elevates standards of scholarly excellence, and proactively pursues interdisciplinary inquiry.

UMBC has attracted faculty who possess impressive credentials, intellectual capability, and passion for research and teaching. The College’s talented faculty are enthusiastic about its future and committed to its continued success. They have chosen UMBC because of its successful blend of research and liberal education mission, its commitment to issues of diversity, and its extraordinary potential. The faculty expects the new Dean to help them grow and develop in their roles and advocate for them within the College and across the University.

In keeping with the traditions of other great universities, the Dean must be vigilant about the quality of the instructional programs, ensuring the College remains at the forefront of educational instruction and pedagogy. Not only concerned with the teaching, but also with the curriculum and the learning demonstrated by UMBC graduates, the Dean should push the envelope on issues of educational quality. The new Dean must continue to strengthen and develop the size, quality, and diversity of the College’s undergraduate and graduate enrollments. One of the goals for the new Dean will be to attract a larger number of students to COEIT without compromising quality or diversity, and within current financial constraints. The new Dean must also seek creative solutions to continue to expand the graduate component of the College, including professional certificate and Master’s programs, and to grow its Ph.D. output.

The College has a unique identity that sets it apart from its peers; the Dean’s challenge is to find creative ways to publicize that identity and promote the College. Fundamental to COEIT’s ongoing success will be building its external image, reputation, and resource base.

The successful candidate will possess an interest in fulfilling the external dimensions of the Dean’s role and will be ready to avidly pursue the numerous opportunities and many avenues available to COEIT. Further, by working with the College’s Institutional Advisory Board as well as other mechanisms, the Dean will strengthen connections to industry in an effort to build even more effective working relationships with the business community. An active participant in the UMBC capital campaign, the Dean must be an effective fundraiser and compelling public speaker. As the Dean develops proactive and responsive relationships with funding sources, industry partners, sponsors, and agencies, the Dean will serve as a model to faculty to do likewise.

The new Dean must be profoundly committed to UMBC’s diversity mission. The Dean must continue to strengthen and develop the quality and diversity of the College’s student and faculty ranks. A central goal for the new Dean will be to support and initiate programs that serve this mission and to foster the cultural climate that attracts top quality, diverse students and faculty to the College.

UMBC seeks a Dean for its College of Engineering and Information Technology with broad intellectual insights, top-tier scholarly credentials, and the leadership and managerial capacity to actualize a bold vision for its future. The selected candidate will bring successful experience from a university, industry, or government environment with a distinguished record of leadership and intellectual achievement; a doctoral degree or equivalent is required. The position requires a leader with strategic capacity, strong management and leadership skills, a record of achievement in research and education, and superior communication skills, to inspire the College of Engineering and Information Technology. The successful candidate will embody many of the following qualifications and attributes:

• A combination of scholarly accomplishments sufficient to qualify for a tenured appointment as full professor, as determined by a strong research record, demonstrated interest in promoting teaching and education, and a record of engaged professional service;

• Proven capacity to craft and implement a strategic vision in an academic setting or a similar context; the entrepreneurial spirit and strategic mindset to stimulate growth;

• Deep commitment to the importance of interdisciplinary work; the wide-ranging intellectual and scientific interests to understand, appreciate, and encourage the varied work within the College;

• Outstanding administrative, financial, and management skills, gained as a department chair, dean, or center director, or senior industry or government leader;

• Deep knowledge of the internal and external mechanisms required to sustain and expand a top-tier research program;

• Successful experience or credible ability in fundraising;

• A record of proactively connecting with colleagues, keeping them professionally engaged, and working to develop and nurture their success;

• The ability to connect with all members and constituency groups of the UMBC community and to work effectively across the campus and with external groups;

• A communicator, who can carry an inspiring message, cultivate key external constituencies, attract partners, raise funds, generate enthusiasm among alumni, and obtain commitments to support the College;

• A passion for UMBC’s mission and an attraction to its culture and values;

• Integrity and the highest standards of ethical behavior.

For more information see http://umbc.edu/engineering/deansearch/.

Isaacson, Miller has been retained by UMBC to assist the Search Committee in its identification and review of candidates. Inquiries, referrals, and resumes should be sent with a cover letter by e-mail and in confidence to:

Vivian Brocard
Vice President
Isaacson, Miller
334 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-262-6500
E-mail: 3101@imsearch.com

UMBC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology
October 25, 2005