Published October 22, 2012 This content is archived.
Dear University Community,
It is my great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Liesl Folks, an internationally renowned expert in nanotechnology and magnetism, as the next Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Folks’ appointment will be effective before the start of the spring semester.
Dr. Folks’ appointment follows an extensive international search launched this past March. Among a large pool of highly qualified candidates, she emerged as uniquely prepared to lead the School at this time in its history. Her academic credentials, creative energy and strong leadership skills stood out throughout the search process. In addition, Dr. Folks brings to UB expertise in building strong partnerships between universities and the private sector as well as a demonstrated commitment to advancing the education of underrepresented minorities and women in engineering. Dr. Folks joins us after spending 15 years in industry, most recently at HGST, and formerly at the IBM Almaden Research Center. I have every confidence that Dr. Folks’ contributions to the School and to our entire university community will become a source of extraordinary pride at UB.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my special thanks to Interim Dean Rajan Batta for his exemplary service in this capacity since April 2011. We are grateful for his steady leadership during this transitional period. I would also like to thank the members of the search committee and co-chairs Dean Bruce Pitman and SUNY Distinguished Professor Venu Govindaraju for their outstanding service and assistance in helping to recruit a candidate of Dr. Folks’ reputation and caliber. For more details about this appointment, I invite you to view the full announcement, available here.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Folks to this significant leadership role and to our campus community.
Best,
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
