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Litynski to serve one year as dean of engineering

July 18, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Dr. Daniel M. Litynski, professor of electrical and computer engineering, will return to a familiar role as he takes the reins of Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences for the next 11 months while a nationwide search for a new dean is conducted.

Litynski's appointment as dean, effective Aug. 1 through June 30, 2009, was announced today by Dr. Bassam Harik, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. Litynski will replace Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of the college since 2005, who is set to become WMU provost and vice president for academic affairs on Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, a campuswide search committee has been named and has begun meeting to help the University identify a new engineering dean. Dr. Joseph G. Reish, dean of University Libraries, is chair of the 15-member search committee that includes faculty, staff, students and alumni. The search goal is to have a new dean identified by the end of March and to have that person in place by July 1.

Litynski formerly served as dean of WMU's engineering college from 1999 to 2002, before being tapped to serve as the University's provost. His tenure in that role was interrupted by six months of service as WMU's interim president. He stepped down from the provost position in June 2004 and, after an administrative leave of absence, accepted a visiting position with the National Science Foundation as program director for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. He later was appointed Acting Division Director of the NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate of Education and Human Resources.

Litynski, who returned from Washington, D.C., to Kalamazoo earlier this year, had planned to resume teaching duties at WMU this fall. His background includes 23 years of service at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, ending his tenure there as professor and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He retired from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general shortly before starting his work at WMU.

Litynski earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1965, a master's degree in optics from the University of Rochester in 1971 and a doctoral degree in physics from Rensselaer in 1978.

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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