Mission

The Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies provides support for the research endeavors conducted by faculty and associate researchers within the School of Engineering, oversees the quality of the graduate program offerings, and manages recruitment and retention programs in order to establish and sustain a pipeline of quality engineering graduate students and research professionals. Support services include identifying new research opportunities, establishing partnerships and facilitating collaborations between SOE faculty, associate researchers, and external industry and government agents. The Office of the Associate Dean assures the quality of the School of Engineering graduate programs by developing and implementing advanced program assessment strategies. An advisory board consisting of department chairs assists in the development of these strategies. Under the authority of the Associate Dean, the Academic, Training & Management Office (ATMO) implements all recruitment activities and provides services that are designed to enhance retention of graduate personnel.

The Office of the Associate Dean for Research includes the following functions:

1. Becoming an expert in the School of Engineering's research capabilities, including involvement of activities by:
   • Established senior faculty researchers
   • Junior faculty members
   • Faculty members not currently engaged in sponsored research
   • Research groups, laboratories and centers
   • Larger-scale collaborations between the School of Engineering and other units in the University
     
     
2. Developing and implementing an overall marketing strategy for research development.


3. Designing and maintaining marketing materials on the research activities across the School of Engineering, including high quality conference and meeting displays, promotional folders, CD-ROMs, brochures and other handouts on program and individual faculty areas of expertise and funding success.
4. Scanning the federal strategic policy and funding environment to match the SOE research expertise with current funding opportunities; position the SOE to take advantage of future funding programs.


5. Attending relevant conferences and workshops in order to market the SOE research expertise.


6. Collaborating with chairpersons, center directors and individual faculty members to distribute information on research opportunities, specifically publishing timely program announcements information for a wide-range of federal programs and agencies, as well as foundation and corporate opportunities. Disseminating information in a format accessible to all researchers in the SOE,


7. Collaborating with chairpersons to create, coordinate and respond to multi-disciplinary opportunities and multi-unit responses to large requests for proposals and provide proposal preparation and specific administrative support for these inter-departmental and cross-college initiatives.


8. Identifying and facilitating research funding opportunities for faculty members, and for building SOE's equipment research infrastructure.


9. Visiting, cultivating, and hosting potential research sponsors.


10. Serving as the School of Engineering's representative to the Intellectual Property Committee. 11. Supervising the research facilities of the School of Engineering.


11. Working with the Office of Sponsored Programs with regard to the development of proposals and ensuring faculty and staff are promptly notified of opportunities for funding from federal, state, industrial and private sources.

The Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies includes the following functions:

1. Chair meetings of departmental graduate program coordinators/department chairs.


2. Coordinate the preparation of graduate student recruiting brochures.


3. Host graduate recruiting weekends for the SOE.


4. Direct distance learning programs and initiatives.


5. Oversee graduate student advisement process. 6. Provide significant leadership in the conceptualization, planning, coordination and evaluation of the School of Engineering outreach and student recruiting process.


6. Collaborate with the Dean, department chairs and faculty; provide leadership on graduate student outcomes assessment issues.


7. Coordinate the graduate programs. Provide advice and guidance to ensure that the quality of programs is comparable to and/or exceeds the quality of education in engineering graduate programs across the United States.


8. Provide guidance on admissions policies for graduate students.


9. To be an advocate and liaison between the School of Engineering and the School of Graduate Studies.

Additional duties and responsibilities of the Associate Dean include:

• Serve as a leader of the Graduate Education Team, the Research Team and as a member of the Dean's Management Team.
  


• Manage and complete other duties or projects as assigned by the Dean