News Release
Office of University Communications
Contact: Anthony P. de Bruyn
434-924-1400
adebruyn@virginia.edu
Thomas C. Katsouleas Named U.Va. Executive Vice President and Provost
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia — June 17, 2015 — University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan today named Thomas C. Katsouleas, Duke University’s Vinik Dean of Engineering and a renowned researcher, as executive vice president and provost. The appointment is effective Aug. 17.
For the past seven years, Katsouleas (photo) has led one of the fastest-rising engineering schools in the nation. At Duke, he reshaped the engineering education and research focus to address society’s challenges and prepare students to lead and innovate upon graduation.
He succeeds John D. Simon, who will become president of Lehigh University on July 1. U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan has asked Senior Vice Provost Milton Adams to serve as acting executive vice president and provost until Katsouleas’ arrival on Grounds.
As the University’s chief academic officer, Katsouleas will continue to advance the important initiatives of U.Va.’s five-year strategic plan, the Cornerstone Plan.
The executive vice president and provost is charged by the U.Va. Board of Visitors and president with overseeing the 11 schools of the University, the University Library, the art museum, three residential colleges, a number of University centers, public service activities and outreach, foreign study programs and the advancement of teaching, research and public service.
“Tom’s energy and passion for learning and innovation, and his demonstrated success as an administrator and scholar, make him the ideal candidate to oversee the academic enterprise of this great institution,” Sullivan said. “He brings a global perspective and keen understanding of the academy and higher education administration.”
“Tom arrives at U.Va. during a momentous time as we approach our third century, one where he will help shape the intellectual future of the University with the hiring of the next generation of top faculty from across the globe,” she added.
Ian Baucom, Buckner W. Clay Dean of the U.Va. College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, chaired the search committee.
“After a highly competitive international search, we are excited that Tom will join the University community,” Baucom said. “He is a proven successful leader who will work with all academic units across Grounds to further faculty-student engagement, promote cross-Grounds collaboration and expand the growing global orientation of the University.“
Sullivan also thanked the search committee members for their excellent work. “I am grateful for the thoughtfulness and dedication they demonstrated throughout the process,” she said.
“I’m excited to be joining one of the premier ‘Research I’ universities in the nation,” Katsouleas said. “U.Va. is a special community that values as I do the close personal interaction between outstanding students and top scholars from a broad academic spectrum and making that kind of personalized education accessible at a public scale. This is a place with an extraordinary tradition and history, but a community that is firmly focused on its future.
“I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with President Sullivan, her team and the faculty, staff and students, as well as U.Va.’s extremely committed alumni and its board, to realize the shared ambition to be the model for the best in public higher education,” Katsouleas added.
Among Katsouleas’ major responsibilities will be:
Katsouleas will also become the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. He will also have a courtesy appointment as professor of physics in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
Prior to joining Duke, Katsouleas spent 14 years advancing through the ranks at the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering. Arriving at USC as an associate professor of electrical engineering-electrophysics, he later served in a variety of administrative positions while continuing to teach and conduct research. These positions were associate dean for student affairs, associate dean for research, president of the faculty and academic senate and interim vice-provost for information services.
Katsouleas joined USC from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was an assistant/associate research engineer and adjunct assistant/associate professor of physics.
A respected thought leader within higher education, Katsouleas has written more than 250 publications. Highlights of his awards include the Outstanding Teaching Award, UCLA Physics Department, 1990 and 1991; Fellow, American Physical Society; Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and the Plasma Science Achievement Award, IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Society, 2011.
Katsouleas earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D., both in physics, from the University of California at Los Angeles.
About the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is distinctive among institutions of higher education. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University sustains the ideal of developing, through education, leaders who are well-prepared to help shape the future of the nation. A recognized leader in teaching, research, health care and service, the University of Virginia is made up of 11 schools in Charlottesville, plus the College at Wise in Southwest Virginia.
The University of Virginia Health System is a nationally renowned academic medical center committed to providing outstanding patient care, educating tomorrow’s health care leaders, and discovering new and better ways to treat diseases.
The University consistently earns national recognition for the quality and value of its education. The Princeton Review this year listed U.Va. as the nation’s top public school for affordability, academics and career prospects. U.S. News & World Report rates U.Va. as the No. 2 public university in the nation, while Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has rated the University as the nation’s No. 2 best value among public universities for three straight years.
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