Tom Katsouleas, dean of the Pratt School of Engineering, will leave his position at Duke to become executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia.
Katsouleas' seven-year tenure has been marked by a period of substantial growth for Pratt—in which engineering graduate student enrollment has risen by 62 percent, six new research centers were launched and external research expenditures have almost doubled to $75.6 million in fiscal year 2014. His new appointment, which UVA announced Wednesday, is effective August 17.
“Tom has been a transformative dean,” Provost Sally Kornbluth said in a Duke News release. “He has led Pratt with a relentless focus on excellence. His enthusiasm for connecting faculty and students with society’s biggest challenges has made the Pratt School, and Duke University, a better place. We all wish him well in his new role.”
Since 2009, the year after Katsouleas took the helm of Pratt, Duke has been one of the fastest-rising in the nation's top engineering schools—consistently improving in the in U.S. News and World Report rankings during his tenure. Pratt reached 18th in the rankings this year for undergraduate engineering schools.
Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, characterized Katsouleas’s tenure as one of “tremendous transformation and success”—pointing to Pratt’s improved national profile, increased enrollment and quality of students and connections with other schools.
Under Katsouleas' leadership, Pratt was one of the first schools to adopt the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, which is intended to empower students to address pressing global issues. Three months ago, Katsouleas and his partners led a national initiative in which 122 U.S. engineering schools pledged to establish Grand Challenge education programs at their institutions in a signed letter to President Barack Obama.
“While I look forward to this next challenge, it is with a mixture of pride and sadness that I leave Duke and Pratt," Katsouleas wrote in a letter to Pratt faculty and staff. "This has been the most gratifying period of my professional career, and I look back and forward to Pratt’s progress with excitement.”
Katsouleas' last date at Duke will be August 14. The search for his replacement—which is headed by Jeffrey Glass, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is set to begin immediately.
Senior associate dean for research George Truskey, who chaired the search committee that selected Sally Provost the new provost in March 2014, will act as interim dean until a replacement is found.
"The University and faculty have experience with these kinds of transitions," Schoenfeld said. "George Truskey has the trust of the faculty and administrators—I have confidence that he will do a great job, and that the search will yield a fabulous candidate."
Katsouleas will succeed John Simon, who leaves his position to become president of Lehigh University on July 1, according to the UVA press release.
Update: This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. to include Schoenfeld's comments.
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