University chooses engineering interim dean, search committee

The University found an interim replacement for departed Dean of the School of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis before the break, choosing Associate Engineering Dean Vincent Manno to fill Miaoulis' vacated position.

Miaoulis left at the end of last semester to join the Boston Museum of Science as President after more than 20 years involvement at Tufts as a student, professor and administrator.

A search committee was formed last month to find a permanent dean, but it has not yet met to formulate a plan of action. The administration hopes the search committee will find a new dean before the start of the next academic year, earlier if possible.

"They're trying to move with all deliberate speed," Manno said. But "it would be an unexpected and pleasant surprise if they could bring in a candidate before the next academic year."

The seven person search committee features several department chairs, and is chaired by Department of Computer Science Chair Diane Souvaine. University Provost Jamshed Bharucha said that the details of what the committee is looking for are not defined yet, but that it will be given guidelines. "I am working with the Chair, Diane Souvaine, to provide the committee with their charge," Bharucha said.

It was already decided that the search will be on a national scale, and that it will be entirely open to anyone within or outside Tufts.

The students should not notice the change at the top too much, Manno said, as the emphasis of the administration will remain the same. "I think everyone would agree we have very different personalities, but the same goals," he said.

One thing that students may miss this semester with the replacement of Miaoulis is his popular gourmet engineering class, which focused on the engineering of cooking. "That's one thing they will notice. I will not be cooking gourmet engineering," Manno joked.

Students who were hoping to take a course on the science of the culinary arts might not be disappointed, however, as professor Peter Wong may take over the class this semester.

Manno is excited about the job _ although it is short-term for the moment, he said that he would not have taken the position if it was merely to maintain status quo until a new dean is found. "Tufts engineering has changed a great deal under Miaoulis," Manno said. "We're at the point now where we can learn a great deal from what happened in the past."

A primary focus this year will be an extensive study of the entire School of Engineering. The school is hoping to bring in experts involved in academics, business, and government to give "frank" assessments of each department.

This will allow the new dean, when chosen, to have a number of evaluations available on the different departments when he arrives.

The most difficult part of Manno's transition to dean has been the addition of fundraising to his responsibilities. "The only thing I've really found hard moving from associate dean to dean is fundraising," Manno said. "Over the next couple of months, I will be less involved in fundraising as I would like."

After the school's assessment is done in the spring, Manno hopes to increase his participation. Manno said the school is also trying to add new members to the Board of Overseers who can play a larger philanthropic role.

Manno was promoted to associate dean a year ago, but he said that he doesn't feel that the two promotions in two years have put him out of his element, since he served as chair of the department of mechanical engineering for ten years from 1991 to 2001.

And while in charge, he wants to make a difference, by increasing community identity between the separate departments in the School of Engineering and between the students. "I want to do everything I can to pull people together."