U appoints Samuel Mukasa as dean of College of Science and Engineering

The University of Minnesota announced today that Samuel B. Mukasa has been selected dean of the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, effective August 31, 2016, and pending approval by the Board of Regents in July.

As dean, Mukasa will be chief executive officer and chief academic officer of the College of Science and Engineering, the University’s second-largest college, which spans 12 departments and is ranked among the top engineering and science academic programs in the country. He will provide strategic and intellectual leadership and administrative oversight for the school and will work to advance its research, teaching, and service.

“Members of the College and the University community as a whole recognize that the college is in excellent shape, with a superb balance of and synergy between its science and engineering units,” said University of Minnesota Provost Karen Hanson. “Sam will work to preserve and enhance the excellence of the college, and that balance, and he will also collaborate with other campus deans to strengthen the University’s collective mission.”

Mukasa previously served as the dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Eric J. Essene Professor of Geochemistry at the University of New Hampshire. Prior to his role at the University of New Hampshire, he spent 21 years on the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he was chair of the Department of Geological Sciences from 2007 to 2010. As dean at New Hampshire since 2011, he has led the development of a strategic plan for the college, new undergraduate degree programs, and faculty cluster hiring initiatives to enhance interdisciplinary scholarship.

Mukasa holds a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. in geology from Ohio State University and a B.S. in geology from UNH. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York. He also received a D.Sc. honorary degree from Nkumba University, Entebbe, Uganda, in 2008. He is highly regarded for his research in geochemistry, geochronology and petrology. His work on the origin and evolution of rocks in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean regions has helped to shed new light on the evolution of continents and has relevance to issues of climate change. He has served as president of the Geochemical Society and in leadership positions for programs at the National Science Foundation and National Academy of Sciences focused on polar climate issues, among many other scientific and professional leadership roles. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America.