Nov. 13, 2013
Dear Jacobs School Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that three accomplished and highly regarded Jacobs School
of Engineering professors have joined our leadership team as associate deans. Please join me in congratulating Pamela Cosman, Jan Talbot, and George Tynan. Together we will engage the entire Jacobs School community on critical issues related to students, faculty, and research — as well as the crucial task of identifying resources to support new initiatives in these areas. Creating a dynamic and engaged leadership team is one step in my plan to take the Jacobs School to the next level of excellence.
Pam, Jan, and George have provided brief remarks on their visions (see below) which I hope will spur the beginnings of fruitful dialog across the entire Jacobs School.
I'd also like to take a moment to reiterate my heartfelt thanks to both Jeanne Ferrante and Charles Tu who each served generously and effectively as associate deans for the Jacobs School of Engineering.
Sincerely,
‒Al
Albert P. Pisano, Ph.D.
Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering
deanpisano@eng.ucsd.edu
(858) 534-6237
Christine Alvarado, Associate Dean for Students
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Responsibilities include:
- Management of student programs
- Student diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Curriculum organization and content
- Management of the instructional infrastructure
“At various points during my undergraduate and graduate school years, I had a range of wonderful and miserable experiences related to advisors, to courses, and to extracurriculars. It can make such a big difference if a school is paying attention to the whole student experience. One related issue I look forward to raising is the incentive structure for faculty at the Jacobs School. I think we need to reorient incentives in order to better recognize faculty excellence in teaching as well as involvement in things like undergraduate research, student organizations and departmental service.” ‒ Pam Cosman
Karen L. Christman, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Welfare
Professor, Department of NanoEngineering
Responsibilities include:
- Preparation and processing of tenure and promotion cases
- Management of faculty recruitment and retention
- Faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion
“One of my priorities will be to help the Jacobs School recruit the best faculty — people who will bring the resources, students, and collaborators that will take us to the next level. Faculty equity and diversity are also under my purview — these are issues that the Jacobs School has struggled with. Our new dean has been successful in these areas in several different settings. Al knows how to make changes, and I will be working with him to do just that.” ‒ Jan Talbot
George Tynan, Associate Dean for Research
Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Responsibilities include:
- Identify new research opportunities at the Jacobs School level
- Management of the Jacobs School's research infrastructure
- Build national and international research partnerships
“I think the biggest constraint on most faculty is time. One of my tasks is to facilitate discussions regarding collaborations and new centers that are compelling enough to get the attention of faculty, to get people to say, 'I'm willing to carve out some time and energy to try to see if we can make this happen.’” ‒ George Tynan