College of Science makes leadership changes

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Larry Buckley and Nathan Cahill

RIT’s College of Science is expanding its focus on interdisciplinary education and industry partnerships through new leadership roles and assignments designed to enrich current curricula.

The new assignments—associate dean for industrial partnerships, assistant dean for undergraduate research and interdisciplinary programs, and head of the Integrated Sciences Academy—will increase opportunities for faculty-student research, study abroad, internships and co-ops, and develop interdisciplinary programs.

“Leadership changes and assignments were made to support the implementation of various new initiatives of the college and our university,” said Sophia Maggelakis, dean of RIT’s College of Science. “These changes will help us to realize the goals set for our college and, most importantly, to better serve our students.”

Joining the College of Science leadership team are:

• Nathan Cahill, associate dean for industrial partnerships;
• Roger Dube, assistant dean for undergraduate research and interdisciplinary programs; and
• Mark Fairchild, head of the new Integrated Sciences Academy.

As associate dean for industrial partnerships, Cahill will cultivate industrial support of research projects for faculty and experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through internships and co-ops. Cahill, associate professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences and program faculty in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, will promote the benefits of working with industry partners and establish an industrial technology transfer program within the college.

Dube will wear two hats as assistant dean for undergraduate research and interdisciplinary programs and as director of the science exploration program. He will carry a joint appointment between the dean’s office and the Integrated Sciences Academy, the new home of the science exploration program.

Dube will coordinate and oversee all undergraduate research activities and programs. He will assist the dean in overseeing the science exploration program, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, the Pre-freshmen Research Internship (“Fast Forward)” program for promising pre-freshmen, and the five current National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduate programs.

Formerly the associate dean for research and graduate education, Fairchild now heads the Integrated Sciences Academy, the college’s sixth academic unit. Fairchild, professor in the color science program, will oversee the academy’s existing programs—the color science MS and Ph.D. programs, science exploration program and all interdisciplinary courses/minors—and future multidisciplinary programs that do not fit within the traditional academic units. A pending BS degree in integrated science and entrepreneurship is expected to be the academy’s first new program.

Additional appointments to existing positions round out Maggelakis’ leadership team. They are:

• Casey Miller, former director of the materials science and engineering graduate program, has become the associate dean for research and faculty affairs;
• Larry Buckley, former head of the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, has been named associate dean for academic affairs; and
• André Hudson, associate professor of biotechnology, has been named head of the Gosnell School of Life Sciences.

The current momentum in the College of Science, reflected in the leadership team, will translate to new initiatives that “provide our graduates with a well-rounded appreciation of science and mathematics, and their place in society,” Maggelakis said.

Roger Dube and Mark Fairchild

Andre Hudson and Casey Miller