Dennis Livesay, dean of the Graduate School, associate vice president for Research and Technology Transfer, and professor of chemistry at Wichita State University, has been named the new dean of WSU's College of Engineering, effective Jan. 1.

In making the announcement, Wichita State Provost Rick Muma said, “We are excited that Dennis will become the next dean of the College of Engineering. His unique background and training in physical chemistry, computing, informatics and protein engineering will allow the college and university to grow our traditional engineering programs, but also seize opportunities that increasingly rely on data and technology to solve some of our most pressing societal issues. Dennis' background will also allow the college and university to more fully embrace interdisciplinary opportunities in the classroom, research spaces and in the community.”

Livesay follows Royce Bowden, who resigned as dean on June 30. Bowden was appointed dean in 2014.

“The College of Engineering is critically important to Wichita State and our community,” Livesay says. “I am excited to work with everyone to help keep moving the college forward and create new opportunities for all. In particular, we will continue to focus on student success, diversity and research growth.”

Livesay's career history encompasses administrative and academic positions at three universities. Prior to WSU, Livesay held positions as professor of bioinformatics and genomics and was founding director of the bioinformatics and computational biology Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He started his academic career at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, where he was a faculty member in the chemistry department from 2000 to 2006.

Livesay has a strong track record of research with significant external funding, including support from the National Institutes of Health and multiple rounds of industry funding related to applying engineering principles to increase the stability of protein-based drugs.

Livesay earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000 and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Ball State University in 1996.

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