Leadership

Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering Position

Karen A. Thole, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been named the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, effective August 1, 2024. This recommendation follows a national search conducted by a search advisory committee.

Read more about Karen A. Thole.

College of Engineering Dean Search Committee

• Elizabeth A. Holm, Chair, Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor of Engineering, Professor and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
• Matt Blank, Student Administration Manager, Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Eunshin Byon, Associate Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering, Associate Professor and Richard Wilson Faculty Scholar
• Cindy Chestek, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Medical School, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Associate Professor of Robotics, College of Engineering
• Anne Curzan, Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature, Linguistics and Education, Arthur F Thurnau Professor, Professor of English Language and Literature, Professor of Linguistics, Dean, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and Professor of Education, Marsal Family School of Education
• Natasha Dacic, Graduate Student, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering
• Reetuparna Das, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering
• Carol Flannagan, Research Professor, Director of the Center for the Management of Information for Safe and Sustainable Transportation (CMISST), U of M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)
• Kelly Hanson, Academic Program Director of Technical Communication and Lecturer III in Technical Communication, College of Engineering
• Carolyn Kuranz, Director, Center for Laboratory Astrophysics, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, College of Engineering
• Stephane Lafortune, N Harris McClamroch Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Sophia Lee, Undergraduate Student, Chemical Engineering
• Joaquim R. R. A. Martins, Pauline M Sherman Collegiate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, College of Engineering
• Lyonel Milton, Interim Executive Director for Culture, Community and Equity, College of Engineering
• Chinedum Okwudire, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Professor of Integrative Systems and Design, Miller Faculty Scholar, and Special Assistant to the Dean for Manufacturing, College of Engineering
• Jing Sun, Michael G Parsons Collegiate Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Tia Sutton Sysounthorn, Alumna, Aerospace Engineering
• Alan Taub, Robert H Lurie Professor of Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Professor of Macromolecular Science and Engineering and Director of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Center, College of Engineering

About this gift

Robert Vlasic was a distinguished civic leader who earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and mechanical engineering from U-M in 1949, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi. After college, he worked in the Detroit food distribution business founded by his father. He assumed leadership of Vlasic Foods Co. in 1963 when it was still a small, local Michigan pickle producer. By 1978, the business had grown to $100 million and ranked number one in the nation, when it was sold to Campbell Soup Co. Bob served as a director of Campbell Soup Co. and retired as chair in 1996. He founded O/E Automation, Inc., based in Troy, Mich. His 1996 gift to U-M established the endowed position known as the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering. It was the first endowed deanship in any U-M school or college.