Office of the Dean

I am honored to be appointed the School of Engineering dean at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey effective July 1, 2009. I am excited about the opportunity to work with the outstanding school faculty and staff as well as the administration to make Rutgers engineering the best that it can be. Together we will provide the world-class student body the best possible educational and research experiences and engage Rutgers engineering constituents within New Jersey and beyond. The interview process convinced me that the faculty, staff, and students of the School are ready to make great things happen.

While these are tough budgetary times, conversations are underway to develop a plan for growth of the School. Peer benchmarking makes a strong case for growing the size of the faculty and staff. The administration is supportive of a plan for growth that is supported by a business strategy for funding the plan based on a combination of enrollment growth, increased federal research funding and gifts from alumni and friends. Such growth would lead to enhancing engineering teaching and research that is already outstanding. We will also develop closer ties with New Jersey's engineering companies to increase sponsored research and student internships. I note that well over half of the School budget is supported by research grants and contracts developed by the faculty and staff.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my predecessor Yogesh Jaluria for his service as interim dean. He has done much to make my transition smooth including encouraging the Department chairs to continue in their roles. Their collective advice and counsel will be very important as we move forward with strategic planning.

I am proud to join a School that has such a long and proud engineering heritage. Much of that pride is due to the accomplishments of School alumni. I very much look forward to meeting you over the week, months, and years ahead. It is hoped that you will answer the call when we engage you with plans to grow the School. We can’t make it happen without you and we look forward to your support.

Thomas N. Farris