feniosky-pena-mora
2017-02-06T11:00:02Z
Faculty members at the School of Engineering and Applied Science want to replace Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora, but the University will not remove him from office, Interim Provost John Coatsworth told Spectator on Wednesday.
Coatsworth said that seven of the nine engineering department chairs sent him a letter in August expressing "dismay" with Peña-Mora, and that in October he received a letter from a "large number" of tenured SEAS professors demanding Peña-Mora's removal.
"The morale of the faculty and their trust in Dean Peña-Mora are reaching an all-time low," the letter, obtained by the New York Times, said. Faculty members said Peña-Mora had worsened SEAS' long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
Coatsworth said that while "the complaints from the faculty were real," Peña-Mora will remain dean and work with SEAS professors to address their concerns.
"Any time faculty are unhappy, and problems are not being solved in a way that keeps our school moving forward, of course it poses a challenge, so the only question really is, what's the best way to respond to the challenge," Coatsworth said. "And in the case of Dean Peña-Mora, who has done a great job in some respects, our decision was to help out by making some suggestions about administration and governance" at SEAS.
Asked if there's a possibility that Peña-Mora could be removed down the line, Coatsworth said that "we'll take stock at the end of the year."
"I think Dean Peña-Mora is committed ... to the school," Coatsworth said. "And we need to get through this academic year and see if the problems can be addressed."
Peña-Mora, traveling in China, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. SEAS spokesperson Holly Evarts said Wednesday night that she was not privy to the faculty discussions about the concerns and could not comment.
An 'overwhelming' loss of confidence
In the October letter, faculty members detailed a litany of grievances against Peña-Mora, saying that if he remained dean, it would cause "irreparable damage—including loss of key faculty and complete alienation of those who remain."
The letter concludes, "The loss of confidence in Dean Peña-Mora is overwhelming. With each additional day faculty unhappiness is growing."
Among professors' charges was that Peña-Mora had hired outside consultants "to reclaim 25% of the school's space for other purposes," and that these consultants did not discuss space usage with faculty. A space crunch at SEAS has long been a source of concern for faculty and administrators.
Peña-Mora acknowledged in an interview with the Times that the culture of Columbia "takes some getting used to," and said that he had not understood the extent of Columbia's space constraints when he first came to the University. According to Coatsworth, Peña-Mora had on several occasions promised space to new hires, before having to renege on those promises "either because of a miscalculation, or, more likely, because the space intended for the person hired is in an area that needs to be reconfigured" to make more space available.
"I think what we're dealing with is a communication problem, rather than any attempt on the part of Peña-Mora to mislead people," Coatsworth said.
The letter also attacked Peña-Mora for mandating an increase in the size of the engineering school's master's program. Administrators have acknowledged that master's students receive very little financial aid at SEAS.
"Doubling class sizes when there are not classrooms to hold them and people are sitting on the floor or in the halls just to increase the school's revenues may provide quick cash—but it ultimately hurts our reputation among future Master's students and undergraduates alike—our future alumni," the letter said.
Coatsworth, though, defended the decision to increase enrollment of master's students, saying that for SEAS to improve in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, it needs to attract more top-flight professors, and "it's the tuition revenue that pays for the professors."
"If you're going to have a top-10 engineering school, you have to have a top-10 engineering faculty we just don't have enough people in enough fields to make the top 10," he said.
But faculty members charged Peña-Mora with unfair hiring practices as well, citing "a critical mismatch between the Dean's academic values and our own."
"Candidates with impressive academic records and outstanding recommendations are discounted if their fields do not promise major funding for the school. Metrics for evaluation are focused upon financial measures rather than academic quality," the letter said.
Coatsworth said that a potential hire's ability to bring in grant money is one of several important factors when hiring, in part because so much of SEAS' money comes from grants, and in part because of what it says about the research itself.
"A faculty member's ability to secure external grants is a criteria that suggests the quality and interest of the research itself, so this is not an uncommon factor," Coatsworth said.
Reputation threatened?
These allegations come to light at a time when SEAS is looking to bolster its standing among engineering schools, both within New York City and nationally. Columbia's proposal for a data sciences institute on its Manhattanville campus is one of five to make the shortlist in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Applied Sciences NYC competition.
The University faces strong competition from Cornell and Stanford to win Bloomberg's bid to bring a new engineering campus to the city.
SEAS faculty referenced the ongoing competition in the letter, acknowledging that "an immediate public change in leadership" might hurt Columbia's chances.
"However, the fact that a number of us who have invested time and effort in creating Columbia's proposal are signing this letter should tell you how serious the current situation is," the letter said.
Coatsworth told Spectator that while "it's impossible to tell how the city will react to this, I can't imagine it will be positive."
"I hope the city recognizes that the Columbia engineering school is not alone in facing growing pains from time to time," he said.
U.S. News ranked SEAS the 16th best graduate engineering school in the country in 2011. The University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign, at which Peña-Mora was an associate provost before coming to Columbia in 2009, was ranked fifth. The undergraduate component of SEAS was jointly ranked fourth with Columbia College.
"The dean here has for the last two years told us that we need to be improving our rankings if we want to be seen as being on par with the other engineering schools," chemical engineering department chair Sanat Kumar told Spectator in March. "Over the last two years he's been here, the rankings have turned around. We are on an upward trail."
Looking for solutions
Coatsworth said that Peña-Mora is working on several initiatives to address professors' concerns. Among the changes is the creation of a SEAS Executive Vice Dean, who will focus on "faculty affairs, space, and instructional support," according to an email sent two weeks ago announcing that engineering professor Donald Goldfarb had been appointed to the position.
Additionally, a committee chaired by engineering professor Michael Mauel has been formed to examine SEAS's administrative structure and potentially suggest changes, and a development specialist has been brought in to look at these questions as well. SEAS currently has "very little faculty governance at the level of the school as whole," Coatsworth said, with no standing committees outside of the department chairs.
Coatsworth noted that he, Goldfarb, Mauel, and Peña-Mora met with about 75 senior faculty members three weeks ago to discuss the initiatives. He said the meeting was "constructive."
"I'm optimistic that over the course of this academic year, that some of the problems can be addressed successfully," he said.
Coatsworth confirmed that the August letter was signed by all SEAS department chairs who had been appointed before this semester. Those department chairs are Kumar, Irving Herman of applied physics and applied math, Raimondo Betti of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, Shree Nayar of computer science, Klaus Lackner of earth and environmental engineering, Keren Bergman of electrical engineering, and Cliff Stein of industrial engineering and operations research.
Coatsworth said he had "no idea" whether faculty members would leave if the attempts at solutions don't work out.
"I certainly hope that faculty who are now unhappy will give this new arrangement time to play out," he said.
The faculty letter stated that concerns about Peña-Mora have been "festering" for two years, but those concerns came as a surprise to some student leaders. University Senator Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that while he could not speak for the rest of the Engineering Student Council, he had not been aware of any of the faculty concerns. Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang also said that he and other EGSC members were surprised to hear about the accusations against Peña-Mora.
ESC President Nate Levick, SEAS '12, said in an email to Spectator that both he and his predecessor, Chris Elizondo, SEAS '11, have "good standing relationships with the Dean."
"General undergrad student sentiment toward the Dean is largely positive. He has been receptive to working with the ESC as well as undergraduate students and groups," Levick said.
Kang said that Peña-Mora has been hugely supportive of EGSC, helping them facilitate events with employers to make it easier for students to find jobs and answering students' questions at EGSC-sponsored town halls.
"He's only been very transparent and very open in being receptive to all of our concerns," Kang said.
TA concerns
The faculty letter also said "the Dean's decision to change the entire structure of the SEAS teaching assistant system because one department had abused it" had caused "chaos for faculty, Ph.D. students, and all those enrolled in our classes."
According to current TAs, Peña-Mora limited TAs to teaching for only one year and created a SEAS-wide committee to appoint them. Previously, TAs were appointed by departments.
Luc Berger, a first-year Ph.D. student in the department of civil engineering and engineering mechanics and a current TA, said that he was especially disheartened by Peña-Mora's decision to limit the TA positions to one year because he "likes to teach and interact with students." As a first-year TA, Berger said he was concerned he may be out of a job next year.
"The timing is so bad," he said. "People are leaving."
Suparno Mukhopadhyay, a Ph.D. student in SEAS, also expressed concern over the new structure.
"It's very difficult to concentrate on our work because we are worried if we will be here or not next year," he said. "It definitely is a problem. One student left because this policy was coming into effect."
Mahesh Bailakanavar, a graduate student in the department of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, said that while the changes to the TA system were untimely, a lot of schools, such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have these systems in place.
But he said he was still sympathetic to graduate students who have difficulties funding their educations. "There is something wrong about this situation," he said. "It's very, very difficult."
Sarah Darville and Mikey Zhong contributed reporting.
news@columbiaspectator.com
... Coatsworth said that seven of the nine engineering department chairs sent him a letter in August expressing "dismay" with Peña-Mora, and that in October he received a letter from a "large number" of tenured SEAS professors demanding Peña-Mora's removal.
"The morale of the faculty and their trust in Dean Peña-Mora are reaching an all-time low," the letter, obtained by the New York Times, said. Faculty members said Peña-Mora had worsened SEAS' long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
Coatsworth said that while "the complaints from the faculty were real," Peña-Mora will remain dean and work with SEAS professors to address their concerns.
"Any time faculty are unhappy, and problems are not being solved in a way that keeps our school moving forward, of course it poses a challenge, so the only question really is, what's the best way to respond to the challenge," Coatsworth said. "And in the case of Dean Peña-Mora, who has done a great job in some respects, our decision was to help out by making some suggestions about administration and governance" at SEAS.
Asked if there's a possibility that Peña-Mora could be removed down the line, Coatsworth said that "we'll take stock at the end of the year."
"I think Dean Peña-Mora is committed ... to the school," Coatsworth said. "And we need to get through this academic year and see if the problems can be addressed."
Peña-Mora, traveling in China, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. SEAS spokesperson Holly Evarts said Wednesday night that she was not privy to the faculty discussions about the concerns and could not comment.
An 'overwhelming' loss of confidence
In the October letter, faculty members detailed a litany of grievances against Peña-Mora, saying that if he remained dean, it would cause "irreparable damage—including loss of key faculty and complete alienation of those who remain."
The letter concludes, "The loss of confidence in Dean Peña-Mora is overwhelming. With each additional day faculty unhappiness is growing."
Among professors' charges was that Peña-Mora had hired outside consultants "to reclaim 25% of the school's space for other purposes," and that these consultants did not discuss space usage with faculty. A space crunch at SEAS has long been a source of concern for faculty and administrators.
Peña-Mora acknowledged in an interview with the Times that the culture of Columbia "takes some getting used to," and said that he had not understood the extent of Columbia's space constraints when he first came to the University. According to Coatsworth, Peña-Mora had on several occasions promised space to new hires, before having to renege on those promises "either because of a miscalculation, or, more likely, because the space intended for the person hired is in an area that needs to be reconfigured" to make more space available.
"I think what we're dealing with is a communication problem, rather than any attempt on the part of Peña-Mora to mislead people," Coatsworth said.
The letter also attacked Peña-Mora for mandating an increase in the size of the engineering school's master's program. Administrators have acknowledged that master's students receive very little financial aid at SEAS.
"Doubling class sizes when there are not classrooms to hold them and people are sitting on the floor or in the halls just to increase the school's revenues may provide quick cash—but it ultimately hurts our reputation among future Master's students and undergraduates alike—our future alumni," the letter said.
Coatsworth, though, defended the decision to increase enrollment of master's students, saying that for SEAS to improve in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, it needs to attract more top-flight professors, and "it's the tuition revenue that pays for the professors."
"If you're going to have a top-10 engineering school, you have to have a top-10 engineering faculty we just don't have enough people in enough fields to make the top 10," he said.
But faculty members charged Peña-Mora with unfair hiring practices as well, citing "a critical mismatch between the Dean's academic values and our own."
"Candidates with impressive academic records and outstanding recommendations are discounted if their fields do not promise major funding for the school. Metrics for evaluation are focused upon financial measures rather than academic quality," the letter said.
Coatsworth said that a potential hire's ability to bring in grant money is one of several important factors when hiring, in part because so much of SEAS' money comes from grants, and in part because of what it says about the research itself.
"A faculty member's ability to secure external grants is a criteria that suggests the quality and interest of the research itself, so this is not an uncommon factor," Coatsworth said.
Reputation threatened?
These allegations come to light at a time when SEAS is looking to bolster its standing among engineering schools, both within New York City and nationally. Columbia's proposal for a data sciences institute on its Manhattanville campus is one of five to make the shortlist in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Applied Sciences NYC competition.
The University faces strong competition from Cornell and Stanford to win Bloomberg's bid to bring a new engineering campus to the city.
SEAS faculty referenced the ongoing competition in the letter, acknowledging that "an immediate public change in leadership" might hurt Columbia's chances.
"However, the fact that a number of us who have invested time and effort in creating Columbia's proposal are signing this letter should tell you how serious the current situation is," the letter said.
Coatsworth told Spectator that while "it's impossible to tell how the city will react to this, I can't imagine it will be positive."
"I hope the city recognizes that the Columbia engineering school is not alone in facing growing pains from time to time," he said.
U.S. News ranked SEAS the 16th best graduate engineering school in the country in 2011. The University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign, at which Peña-Mora was an associate provost before coming to Columbia in 2009, was ranked fifth. The undergraduate component of SEAS was jointly ranked fourth with Columbia College.
"The dean here has for the last two years told us that we need to be improving our rankings if we want to be seen as being on par with the other engineering schools," chemical engineering department chair Sanat Kumar told Spectator in March. "Over the last two years he's been here, the rankings have turned around. We are on an upward trail."
Looking for solutions
Coatsworth said that Peña-Mora is working on several initiatives to address professors' concerns. Among the changes is the creation of a SEAS Executive Vice Dean, who will focus on "faculty affairs, space, and instructional support," according to an email sent two weeks ago announcing that engineering professor Donald Goldfarb had been appointed to the position.
Additionally, a committee chaired by engineering professor Michael Mauel has been formed to examine SEAS's administrative structure and potentially suggest changes, and a development specialist has been brought in to look at these questions as well. SEAS currently has "very little faculty governance at the level of the school as whole," Coatsworth said, with no standing committees outside of the department chairs.
Coatsworth noted that he, Goldfarb, Mauel, and Peña-Mora met with about 75 senior faculty members three weeks ago to discuss the initiatives. He said the meeting was "constructive."
"I'm optimistic that over the course of this academic year, that some of the problems can be addressed successfully," he said.
Coatsworth confirmed that the August letter was signed by all SEAS department chairs who had been appointed before this semester. Those department chairs are Kumar, Irving Herman of applied physics and applied math, Raimondo Betti of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, Shree Nayar of computer science, Klaus Lackner of earth and environmental engineering, Keren Bergman of electrical engineering, and Cliff Stein of industrial engineering and operations research.
Coatsworth said he had "no idea" whether faculty members would leave if the attempts at solutions don't work out.
"I certainly hope that faculty who are now unhappy will give this new arrangement time to play out," he said.
The faculty letter stated that concerns about Peña-Mora have been "festering" for two years, but those concerns came as a surprise to some student leaders. University Senator Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that while he could not speak for the rest of the Engineering Student Council, he had not been aware of any of the faculty concerns. Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang also said that he and other EGSC members were surprised to hear about the accusations against Peña-Mora.
ESC President Nate Levick, SEAS '12, said in an email to Spectator that both he and his predecessor, Chris Elizondo, SEAS '11, have "good standing relationships with the Dean."
"General undergrad student sentiment toward the Dean is largely positive. He has been receptive to working with the ESC as well as undergraduate students and groups," Levick said.
Kang said that Peña-Mora has been hugely supportive of EGSC, helping them facilitate events with employers to make it easier for students to find jobs and answering students' questions at EGSC-sponsored town halls.
"He's only been very transparent and very open in being receptive to all of our concerns," Kang said.
TA concerns
The faculty letter also said "the Dean's decision to change the entire structure of the SEAS teaching assistant system because one department had abused it" had caused "chaos for faculty, Ph.D. students, and all those enrolled in our classes."
According to current TAs, Peña-Mora limited TAs to teaching for only one year and created a SEAS-wide committee to appoint them. Previously, TAs were appointed by departments.
Luc Berger, a first-year Ph.D. student in the department of civil engineering and engineering mechanics and a current TA, said that he was especially disheartened by Peña-Mora's decision to limit the TA positions to one year because he "likes to teach and interact with students." As a first-year TA, Berger said he was concerned he may be out of a job next year.
"The timing is so bad," he said. "People are leaving."
Suparno Mukhopadhyay, a Ph.D. student in SEAS, also expressed concern over the new structure.
"It's very difficult to concentrate on our work because we are worried if we will be here or not next year," he said. "It definitely is a problem. One student left because this policy was coming into effect."
Mahesh Bailakanavar, a graduate student in the department of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, said that while the changes to the TA system were untimely, a lot of schools, such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have these systems in place.
But he said he was still sympathetic to graduate students who have difficulties funding their educations. "There is something wrong about this situation," he said. "It's very, very difficult."
Sarah Darville and Mikey Zhong contributed reporting.
news@columbiaspectator.com
2016-05-18T04:46:21Z
Five years ago, Aramael Pena-Alcantara, CC '16, did not plan on attending Columbia. He even resisted going to Days on Campus despite living just a few stops away on the 1 train, but was eventually "forced" by his parents.
... 
2015-01-12T16:03:27Z
Within a few weeks, University President Lee Bollinger will choose the next dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science after receiving the recommendations of a search committee. We've spoken with the four finalists, and we urge Bollinger and the search committee to select UCLA professor Paul Weiss.
Weiss is the director of the California NanoSystems Institute, a nanoscience research center based at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also an internationally recognized scientist who has spent years teaching undergraduates and collaborating with engineers around the world on cutting-edge research. He has the potential to be a transformative leader for SEAS, fueling an increase in interdisciplinary research, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, and attracting venture capitalists and high-quality professors to the school.
Earlier this month, the search committee announced the finalists: Mary Boyce, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's mechanical engineering department; Andrew Gellman, head of Carnegie Mellon University's chemical engineering department; Donald Goldfarb, the current SEAS interim dean; and Weiss. In interviews with Spectator's editorial board, all four candidates demonstrated that they would bring innovative ideas and a wealth of experience to SEAS. Gellman oversaw a $26 million overhaul of CMU's chemical engineering facilities, an experience that would prove useful here, and Boyce said that she would create connections between the engineering school and other "pockets of excellence" at Columbia. Additionally, choosing the first female dean of SEAS would be an exciting, symbolic step forward for women in engineering.
Goldfarb presented a strong case for continuing as dean. He has taught at SEAS for more than 30 years, including a year-long stint as interim dean in the mid-1990s. He also built up the industrial engineering and operations research department, transforming it from a weak link into the school's highest-ranked department during an 18-year tenure as chair. Considering Goldfarb's long and successful history at Columbia, it should be no surprise that when then-dean Feniosky Peña-Mora lost the faculty's trust in 2011, central administrators turned to Goldfarb to rebuild that trust, appointing him executive vice dean. By all accounts, Goldfarb has done so, first in that role and, since July, as interim dean.
But while no candidate can match Goldfarb's three decades of experience at Columbia, Weiss has successfully navigated a similarly complex bureaucracy at the University of California. Since his appointment as director of the NanoSystems Institute in 2009, he has overseen 125 faculty members from more than 25 departments and reported to both the chancellor of UCLA and the president of the UC system. Furthermore, he has already developed an impressive familiarity with Columbia—unlike the other two external candidates, he pointed immediately to Manhattanville when asked how to solve the engineering school's notorious space problem, and he cited the exact number of professors that the Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering plans to hire. SEAS would no doubt experience growing pains as Weiss adjusts to the intricacies of Columbia's bureaucracy, and after their experience with Peña-Mora, SEAS professors might distrust another outside hire. But Weiss' outsider status is not an insurmountable barrier.
What begins to set Weiss apart from the other candidates is his penchant for interdisciplinary work. He oversees a research group at UCLA that includes chemists, physicists, biologists, materials scientists, electrical and mechanical engineers, and computer scientists. The work of the NanoSystems Institute, meanwhile, spans the sciences, engineering, medicine, art, law, public policy, and film. Weiss expressed enthusiasm about the data sciences institute and the planned Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and he said he would work to coordinate more interdisciplinary efforts as SEAS expands into Manhattanville.
Goldfarb, too, has a history of crossing disciplinary boundaries—he has taught chemical engineering, computer science, and industrial engineering and operations research. But he also indicated that, as dean, he would give his department heads almost total autonomy to choose their departments' research focuses and specializations. While the SEAS faculty had an understandably poor response to Peña-Mora's tendency to micromanage, we think it is important for the dean to play an active role in encouraging collaboration. The most pressing problems facing the world today demand interdisciplinary solutions, and Weiss' ability to break down traditional academic boundaries would keep SEAS relevant and ahead of the curve on cutting-edge research.
Weiss also understands that Columbia has not done enough to promote innovation and entrepreneurship or to engage with the growing New York City tech scene. He said he would push to give all undergraduates access to laboratory experience, as he did for every honors chemistry student during the decade he taught freshman chemistry at Pennsylvania State University. Columbia has long earned significant patent royalties, but few student or faculty spinoffs have made a mark in the tech world. Weiss said that he would prioritize attracting more venture capitalists to Columbia, and considering his success in interdisciplinary work and his network of international connections, he is likely to succeed.
Although Weiss has not worked directly with undergraduates at UCLA, Penn State recognized him with its Excellence in Honors Teaching Award in 2004. He also expressed interest in implementing a pass/D/fail policy for engineering students, calling the disparity between the SEAS and CC policies one of the "odd differences" he has noticed between the two schools. He promised to study these disparities systematically and weed out those that don't make sense. More generally, Weiss was in tune with the issues important to SEAS undergraduates. Like Goldfarb, he expressed a desire to strengthen study abroad options for engineers, which are generally limited because of the restrictive nature of the engineering curriculum. He also emphasized that he would balance the needs of undergraduates against the needs of the school's growing master's student population, ensuring that undergraduates have sufficient access to professors and upper-level courses.
Goldfarb would no doubt continue to be a strong dean, but we consider him the safe choice, someone who will keep SEAS moving along its current path but not push its faculty and students to new and greater heights. We have some reservations about recommending an outside candidate for SEAS dean, and we hope that Goldfarb would serve in a senior advisory role under Weiss, helping him navigate Columbia's bureaucratic waters and providing invaluable input and institutional memory on issues ranging from globalization to online education. But Weiss' bold, forward-looking vision makes him the best candidate for the school's long-term growth, and we endorse him in the strongest terms.
To respond to this staff editorial, or to submit an op-ed, contact opinion@columbiaspectator.com
... Weiss is the director of the California NanoSystems Institute, a nanoscience research center based at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also an internationally recognized scientist who has spent years teaching undergraduates and collaborating with engineers around the world on cutting-edge research. He has the potential to be a transformative leader for SEAS, fueling an increase in interdisciplinary research, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, and attracting venture capitalists and high-quality professors to the school.
Earlier this month, the search committee announced the finalists: Mary Boyce, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's mechanical engineering department; Andrew Gellman, head of Carnegie Mellon University's chemical engineering department; Donald Goldfarb, the current SEAS interim dean; and Weiss. In interviews with Spectator's editorial board, all four candidates demonstrated that they would bring innovative ideas and a wealth of experience to SEAS. Gellman oversaw a $26 million overhaul of CMU's chemical engineering facilities, an experience that would prove useful here, and Boyce said that she would create connections between the engineering school and other "pockets of excellence" at Columbia. Additionally, choosing the first female dean of SEAS would be an exciting, symbolic step forward for women in engineering.
Goldfarb presented a strong case for continuing as dean. He has taught at SEAS for more than 30 years, including a year-long stint as interim dean in the mid-1990s. He also built up the industrial engineering and operations research department, transforming it from a weak link into the school's highest-ranked department during an 18-year tenure as chair. Considering Goldfarb's long and successful history at Columbia, it should be no surprise that when then-dean Feniosky Peña-Mora lost the faculty's trust in 2011, central administrators turned to Goldfarb to rebuild that trust, appointing him executive vice dean. By all accounts, Goldfarb has done so, first in that role and, since July, as interim dean.
But while no candidate can match Goldfarb's three decades of experience at Columbia, Weiss has successfully navigated a similarly complex bureaucracy at the University of California. Since his appointment as director of the NanoSystems Institute in 2009, he has overseen 125 faculty members from more than 25 departments and reported to both the chancellor of UCLA and the president of the UC system. Furthermore, he has already developed an impressive familiarity with Columbia—unlike the other two external candidates, he pointed immediately to Manhattanville when asked how to solve the engineering school's notorious space problem, and he cited the exact number of professors that the Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering plans to hire. SEAS would no doubt experience growing pains as Weiss adjusts to the intricacies of Columbia's bureaucracy, and after their experience with Peña-Mora, SEAS professors might distrust another outside hire. But Weiss' outsider status is not an insurmountable barrier.
What begins to set Weiss apart from the other candidates is his penchant for interdisciplinary work. He oversees a research group at UCLA that includes chemists, physicists, biologists, materials scientists, electrical and mechanical engineers, and computer scientists. The work of the NanoSystems Institute, meanwhile, spans the sciences, engineering, medicine, art, law, public policy, and film. Weiss expressed enthusiasm about the data sciences institute and the planned Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and he said he would work to coordinate more interdisciplinary efforts as SEAS expands into Manhattanville.
Goldfarb, too, has a history of crossing disciplinary boundaries—he has taught chemical engineering, computer science, and industrial engineering and operations research. But he also indicated that, as dean, he would give his department heads almost total autonomy to choose their departments' research focuses and specializations. While the SEAS faculty had an understandably poor response to Peña-Mora's tendency to micromanage, we think it is important for the dean to play an active role in encouraging collaboration. The most pressing problems facing the world today demand interdisciplinary solutions, and Weiss' ability to break down traditional academic boundaries would keep SEAS relevant and ahead of the curve on cutting-edge research.
Weiss also understands that Columbia has not done enough to promote innovation and entrepreneurship or to engage with the growing New York City tech scene. He said he would push to give all undergraduates access to laboratory experience, as he did for every honors chemistry student during the decade he taught freshman chemistry at Pennsylvania State University. Columbia has long earned significant patent royalties, but few student or faculty spinoffs have made a mark in the tech world. Weiss said that he would prioritize attracting more venture capitalists to Columbia, and considering his success in interdisciplinary work and his network of international connections, he is likely to succeed.
Although Weiss has not worked directly with undergraduates at UCLA, Penn State recognized him with its Excellence in Honors Teaching Award in 2004. He also expressed interest in implementing a pass/D/fail policy for engineering students, calling the disparity between the SEAS and CC policies one of the "odd differences" he has noticed between the two schools. He promised to study these disparities systematically and weed out those that don't make sense. More generally, Weiss was in tune with the issues important to SEAS undergraduates. Like Goldfarb, he expressed a desire to strengthen study abroad options for engineers, which are generally limited because of the restrictive nature of the engineering curriculum. He also emphasized that he would balance the needs of undergraduates against the needs of the school's growing master's student population, ensuring that undergraduates have sufficient access to professors and upper-level courses.
Goldfarb would no doubt continue to be a strong dean, but we consider him the safe choice, someone who will keep SEAS moving along its current path but not push its faculty and students to new and greater heights. We have some reservations about recommending an outside candidate for SEAS dean, and we hope that Goldfarb would serve in a senior advisory role under Weiss, helping him navigate Columbia's bureaucratic waters and providing invaluable input and institutional memory on issues ranging from globalization to online education. But Weiss' bold, forward-looking vision makes him the best candidate for the school's long-term growth, and we endorse him in the strongest terms.
To respond to this staff editorial, or to submit an op-ed, contact opinion@columbiaspectator.com
2014-10-24T10:10:04Z
Updated, 11:47 p.m.
2014-10-20T15:35:03Z
University President Lee Bollinger appointed Mary Cunningham Boyce, head of the department of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as the next dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, effective July 1.
Boyce takes the reins of a school that, limited by space, is looking to stay competitive with its peer institutions and bolster its presence in the New York entrepreneurial scene, as it recovers from a faculty revolt that led to the resignation of its dean last year.
"She's first of all a very, very distinguished scholar and academic," Bollinger told Spectator Tuesday afternoon. "She's done an extremely fine job as chair of a very large department, mechanical engineering, at MIT, of course, a very distinguished engineering school."
He added, "She has a great character and a great way about her and you just feel that she'll be just a wonderful leader for the school."
Boyce succeeds Interim Dean Donald Goldfarb, who has held the post since July, when former dean Feniosky Peña-Mora resigned.
The school's first female dean said she was looking forward to capitalizing on SEAS's advantages and expanding its global reach.
"We have lots of opportunities now to create more capabilities in open innovation and international experiences, everything that Columbia has already been working on, and an ability to do some shaping of other opportunities for the Columbia SEAS students that capitalize on our strengths," she said in an interview Tuesday.
Boyce beat out three other finalists: Goldfarb; Andrew Gellman, head of chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; and Paul Weiss, director of the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Bollinger and Provost John Coatsworth said that they thought Boyce had distinguished herself both as an academic and as an administrator.
"I think we were looking for exactly what she is," Coatsworth told Spectator Tuesday. "That is, a successful scholar whose research has been important in her field and a successful administrator who has proved that she can run a successful enterprise and do so with incredible success."
Coatsworth said that SEAS is "poised to become one of the engineering powerhouses of the 21st century."
"I think it has all the ingredients that are needed," he said. "It's located in the city of New York, which, in itself, is becoming a center for engineering excellence in the world."
Former Engineering Student Council Vice President of Policy Logan Donovan, SEAS '13, said Boyce was her first choice for the position. Donovan participated in the student interviews with the dean candidates.
"She comes from MIT, which is an incredibly well-respected engineering school," she said. "I think there are a lot of programs that she's made at MIT that a lot of students at Columbia cite as things they'd like to see at Columbia."
Donovan pointed to MIT's Toy Lab, a program that Boyce created for freshmen with an emphasis on product design for entertainment. Boyce said in her meeting with Columbia students that 20 percent of MIT freshmen take the class, even though it is not for credit.
With the Toy Lab, "she's already demonstrated that she's found a way to understand students' needs and undergraduates and create something for them," Donovan said.
Kristin Myers, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, had Boyce as a professor when she was getting her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at MIT. Myers called Boyce an "incredible teacher ... one of my best instructors at MIT."
"She was really excited to bring the MIT culture here to Columbia, creating a very active and creative environment for the undergrads in terms of education, projects, and entrepreneurship," Myers said. "I think her vision was that she was really focusing on upping the ante of our undergraduate education."
Students agreed that Boyce would bring a fresh perspective to the school.
"I think she's going to bring in a much-needed new perspective for SEAS, especially her coming from MIT," ESC Vice President of Student Life Sheila Misheni, SEAS '14, said.
Donovan said that Boyce was the only candidate to suggest how full-time students could take advantage of online courses.
"A lot of engineers struggle with study abroad or wanting to do internships that aren't at standard times. At MIT, one of the ways they've allowed students to take advantage of more opportunities is to allow them to follow along on online courses so they don't fall behind on their coursework," she said.
ESC President Tim Qin, SEAS '13 and one of two students who served on the search committee, said he hoped Boyce would help ESC and other engineering student groups plan a student-run engineering career fair next spring. He noted that MIT has one of the largest student-run career fairs in the country.
Former Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang, a fifth-year Ph.D. student and the other student on the search committee, said Boyce emphasized how "Columbia has this untapped potential in New York City."
"She really had this palpable excitement about how Columbia could really leverage being in New York City," he said. "I think she was able to translate that message really well to everyone, starting from the undergrads ... to the grad students to the faculty to the senior administration to alumni."
Kang also said he was impressed by Boyce's understanding of graduate-student issues. He explained that master's and Ph.D. students have very different needs—Ph.D. students are more focused on research, while master's students are more focused on coursework—and that Boyce wanted to ensure that students were integrated into the community.
"She knew exactly the kind of issues that would need to be tackled, and I think that was very impressive that she kind of understood already what that situation was."
Bollinger shared the sentiment that Boyce responded well to faculty and students.
"It's a time for SEAS to really shine, and she understands all of that and is excited by that," he said.
Samantha Cooney and Cecilia Reyes contributed reporting.
lillian.chen@columbiaspectator.com | @llchen8
... Boyce takes the reins of a school that, limited by space, is looking to stay competitive with its peer institutions and bolster its presence in the New York entrepreneurial scene, as it recovers from a faculty revolt that led to the resignation of its dean last year.
"She's first of all a very, very distinguished scholar and academic," Bollinger told Spectator Tuesday afternoon. "She's done an extremely fine job as chair of a very large department, mechanical engineering, at MIT, of course, a very distinguished engineering school."
He added, "She has a great character and a great way about her and you just feel that she'll be just a wonderful leader for the school."
Boyce succeeds Interim Dean Donald Goldfarb, who has held the post since July, when former dean Feniosky Peña-Mora resigned.
The school's first female dean said she was looking forward to capitalizing on SEAS's advantages and expanding its global reach.
"We have lots of opportunities now to create more capabilities in open innovation and international experiences, everything that Columbia has already been working on, and an ability to do some shaping of other opportunities for the Columbia SEAS students that capitalize on our strengths," she said in an interview Tuesday.
Boyce beat out three other finalists: Goldfarb; Andrew Gellman, head of chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; and Paul Weiss, director of the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Bollinger and Provost John Coatsworth said that they thought Boyce had distinguished herself both as an academic and as an administrator.
"I think we were looking for exactly what she is," Coatsworth told Spectator Tuesday. "That is, a successful scholar whose research has been important in her field and a successful administrator who has proved that she can run a successful enterprise and do so with incredible success."
Coatsworth said that SEAS is "poised to become one of the engineering powerhouses of the 21st century."
"I think it has all the ingredients that are needed," he said. "It's located in the city of New York, which, in itself, is becoming a center for engineering excellence in the world."
Former Engineering Student Council Vice President of Policy Logan Donovan, SEAS '13, said Boyce was her first choice for the position. Donovan participated in the student interviews with the dean candidates.
"She comes from MIT, which is an incredibly well-respected engineering school," she said. "I think there are a lot of programs that she's made at MIT that a lot of students at Columbia cite as things they'd like to see at Columbia."
Donovan pointed to MIT's Toy Lab, a program that Boyce created for freshmen with an emphasis on product design for entertainment. Boyce said in her meeting with Columbia students that 20 percent of MIT freshmen take the class, even though it is not for credit.
With the Toy Lab, "she's already demonstrated that she's found a way to understand students' needs and undergraduates and create something for them," Donovan said.
Kristin Myers, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, had Boyce as a professor when she was getting her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at MIT. Myers called Boyce an "incredible teacher ... one of my best instructors at MIT."
"She was really excited to bring the MIT culture here to Columbia, creating a very active and creative environment for the undergrads in terms of education, projects, and entrepreneurship," Myers said. "I think her vision was that she was really focusing on upping the ante of our undergraduate education."
Students agreed that Boyce would bring a fresh perspective to the school.
"I think she's going to bring in a much-needed new perspective for SEAS, especially her coming from MIT," ESC Vice President of Student Life Sheila Misheni, SEAS '14, said.
Donovan said that Boyce was the only candidate to suggest how full-time students could take advantage of online courses.
"A lot of engineers struggle with study abroad or wanting to do internships that aren't at standard times. At MIT, one of the ways they've allowed students to take advantage of more opportunities is to allow them to follow along on online courses so they don't fall behind on their coursework," she said.
ESC President Tim Qin, SEAS '13 and one of two students who served on the search committee, said he hoped Boyce would help ESC and other engineering student groups plan a student-run engineering career fair next spring. He noted that MIT has one of the largest student-run career fairs in the country.
Former Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang, a fifth-year Ph.D. student and the other student on the search committee, said Boyce emphasized how "Columbia has this untapped potential in New York City."
"She really had this palpable excitement about how Columbia could really leverage being in New York City," he said. "I think she was able to translate that message really well to everyone, starting from the undergrads ... to the grad students to the faculty to the senior administration to alumni."
Kang also said he was impressed by Boyce's understanding of graduate-student issues. He explained that master's and Ph.D. students have very different needs—Ph.D. students are more focused on research, while master's students are more focused on coursework—and that Boyce wanted to ensure that students were integrated into the community.
"She knew exactly the kind of issues that would need to be tackled, and I think that was very impressive that she kind of understood already what that situation was."
Bollinger shared the sentiment that Boyce responded well to faculty and students.
"It's a time for SEAS to really shine, and she understands all of that and is excited by that," he said.
Samantha Cooney and Cecilia Reyes contributed reporting.
lillian.chen@columbiaspectator.com | @llchen8
2014-10-19T20:25:02Z
Embattled School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora is receiving support from an unlikely source—local politicians.
Peña-Mora has been harshly criticized by SEAS faculty members, many of whom have called for his resignation.
But several Upper Manhattan elected officials have come out in support of Peña-Mora, including City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who is challenging Rep. Charles Rangel for his congressional seat. Rodriguez said that Peña-Mora, who was born in the Dominican Republic and lived in Washington Heights, has a lot of support "especially in the community of color."
"The data speaks for itself—he increased the number of women and minority students and staff," Rodriguez said. "It's very impressive, especially at a time when Columbia has a commitment to increasing diversity on campus."
According to faculty members, Peña-Mora has worsened SEAS's long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
But Rodriguez, the chair of the City Council's higher education committee, called Peña-Mora a "true leader." He said that "the community is on alert" for any attempt by the University to remove Peña-Mora as dean.
"It makes us so proud to know we have one of the best deans in the nation," Rodriguez said. "One of the best of the best is coming from our own community."
Espaillat spokesperson Ibrahim Khan said that Peña-Mora brings "much-needed diversity to academia," among other qualities.
"We feel of the criteria we judge someone of his position by—whether he can retain good professors or whether he can use the resources for the school to move forward, whether he can bring in good talent, both professors and students—in each of those categories, we feel that he has led the school exceptionally," Khan said.
Rodriguez noted that SEAS's ranking among engineering schools in the U.S. News and World Report has risen from 21 in 2009, when Peña-Mora became dean, to 15 this year. Rodriguez also stressed the importance of Peña-Mora's engagement with the Upper Manhattan community.
"He also is very connected to many schools in our district. He has opened young people to new opportunities" by introducing them to engineering, Rodriguez said.
"Many students don't see it as a possible choice, when they're trying to identify what they want to be in future," Rodriguez said. "I'm looking to see more students exposed to the field of science and engineering, especially students of color, who have been left behind in many areas."
Peña-Mora also has the support of State Sen. Bill Perkins and City Council member Robert Jackson. According to Rodriguez, State Assembly member Guillermo Linares also supports Peña-Mora, although Linares did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Rodriguez said that Peña-Mora's successes outweighed the accusations of faculty members.
"I understand how important it is for an institution to have leaders who work with different chairs of the departments," Rodriguez said. "I hope the chairmen of different departments of engineering understand he has been doing the work he's been asked to do by the administration of Columbia University ... I hope they will sit down and work something out."
Peña-Mora was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
The Engineering Student Council's executive board also issued a statement last week expressing support for Peña-Mora. ESC President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that the new executive board "just wanted to reiterate its support" for Peña-Mora, as the previous executive board had.
"We believe that Dean Peña-Mora has and will continue to maintain his strong and fruitful working relationship with the undergraduate engineering community. Since becoming the Dean three years ago, he has continuously strived to improve the undergraduate engineering experience," the statement read. "Through his many initiatives to reach out to the students, Dean Peña-Mora has actively maintained both visibility and accessibility to student groups and individual students.
"We are confident that the Dean will further enhance the undergraduate engineering student life and educational experience," the statement read. "We look forward to working with the Dean next year."
Sammy Roth contributed reporting.
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
... Peña-Mora has been harshly criticized by SEAS faculty members, many of whom have called for his resignation.
But several Upper Manhattan elected officials have come out in support of Peña-Mora, including City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who is challenging Rep. Charles Rangel for his congressional seat. Rodriguez said that Peña-Mora, who was born in the Dominican Republic and lived in Washington Heights, has a lot of support "especially in the community of color."
"The data speaks for itself—he increased the number of women and minority students and staff," Rodriguez said. "It's very impressive, especially at a time when Columbia has a commitment to increasing diversity on campus."
According to faculty members, Peña-Mora has worsened SEAS's long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
But Rodriguez, the chair of the City Council's higher education committee, called Peña-Mora a "true leader." He said that "the community is on alert" for any attempt by the University to remove Peña-Mora as dean.
"It makes us so proud to know we have one of the best deans in the nation," Rodriguez said. "One of the best of the best is coming from our own community."
Espaillat spokesperson Ibrahim Khan said that Peña-Mora brings "much-needed diversity to academia," among other qualities.
"We feel of the criteria we judge someone of his position by—whether he can retain good professors or whether he can use the resources for the school to move forward, whether he can bring in good talent, both professors and students—in each of those categories, we feel that he has led the school exceptionally," Khan said.
Rodriguez noted that SEAS's ranking among engineering schools in the U.S. News and World Report has risen from 21 in 2009, when Peña-Mora became dean, to 15 this year. Rodriguez also stressed the importance of Peña-Mora's engagement with the Upper Manhattan community.
"He also is very connected to many schools in our district. He has opened young people to new opportunities" by introducing them to engineering, Rodriguez said.
"Many students don't see it as a possible choice, when they're trying to identify what they want to be in future," Rodriguez said. "I'm looking to see more students exposed to the field of science and engineering, especially students of color, who have been left behind in many areas."
Peña-Mora also has the support of State Sen. Bill Perkins and City Council member Robert Jackson. According to Rodriguez, State Assembly member Guillermo Linares also supports Peña-Mora, although Linares did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Rodriguez said that Peña-Mora's successes outweighed the accusations of faculty members.
"I understand how important it is for an institution to have leaders who work with different chairs of the departments," Rodriguez said. "I hope the chairmen of different departments of engineering understand he has been doing the work he's been asked to do by the administration of Columbia University ... I hope they will sit down and work something out."
Peña-Mora was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
The Engineering Student Council's executive board also issued a statement last week expressing support for Peña-Mora. ESC President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that the new executive board "just wanted to reiterate its support" for Peña-Mora, as the previous executive board had.
"We believe that Dean Peña-Mora has and will continue to maintain his strong and fruitful working relationship with the undergraduate engineering community. Since becoming the Dean three years ago, he has continuously strived to improve the undergraduate engineering experience," the statement read. "Through his many initiatives to reach out to the students, Dean Peña-Mora has actively maintained both visibility and accessibility to student groups and individual students.
"We are confident that the Dean will further enhance the undergraduate engineering student life and educational experience," the statement read. "We look forward to working with the Dean next year."
Sammy Roth contributed reporting.
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
2014-08-25T05:00:10Z
The committee looking for an engineering school dean will host a town hall Wednesday to get student input on the search process.
The event will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Davis Auditorium in Schapiro CEPSR. The committee, which consists of eight senior faculty members, two students, and the chair of the School of Engineering and Applied Science's board of visitors, has already started reviewing dean nominations from students and professors.
"The town hall is really a venue for students to voice their thoughts about what they want in the next engineering dean," committee member and Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said.
The committee is working to replace civil engineering professor Feniosky Peña-Mora, who resigned in July following a faculty revolt. Former executive vice dean Donald Goldfarb has been serving as interim dean since then.
The committee is considering both internal and external candidates. Provost John Coatsworth, the chair of the committee, said in a recent interview that the engineering school needs a dean "who can provide a vision and leadership for the school."
"We need somebody who has managerial or administrative experience that can help the school realize that vision, expand and do it in an orderly, step-by-step way that will bring along the faculty and the students," he said. "And we need somebody whose academic or other credentials are impeccable, who has made some contribution to some field of engineering that everyone recognizes as important."
University President Lee Bollinger expressed a similar sentiment. Noting that SEAS has been rising in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings of the country's best engineering schools—it improved from 25th in 2007 to 16th this year—Bollinger said that "we really need a dean who will embrace that mission of steady improvement of the school."
"There's a real mission to try to help the school, and we want a dean who can do that," Bollinger said. "I think we need someone who is a very distinguished academic, who has a vision for the school that matches where we have seen its possibilities."
Qin said that while those attributes are important to students, he also wants a new dean who is ready to focus on students. Peña-Mora, while unpopular among faculty members, was popular among students for his support of student initiatives.
"I think students are going to be really interested in how the new dean can help undergraduate and graduate student life," Qin said.
According to Coatsworth, administrators recently hired a search firm to help the committee devise a strategy for its search process. Representatives from the search firm have been present at both of the committee's meetings.
Bollinger said that the committee will give him a list of three unranked candidates, from which he will select the next dean. Qin said that the committee will recommend candidates "as soon as possible," although its exact timeline has yet to be determined.
"Discussion will start within the next few weeks, if not sooner," Qin said.
The committee will also hold a town hall for faculty members soon.
"We're looking for the school to feel that it has really invested itself in its new dean, and that the relations, right from the start, will be strong and positive," Bollinger said.
margaret.mattes@columbiaspectator.com
... The event will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Davis Auditorium in Schapiro CEPSR. The committee, which consists of eight senior faculty members, two students, and the chair of the School of Engineering and Applied Science's board of visitors, has already started reviewing dean nominations from students and professors.
"The town hall is really a venue for students to voice their thoughts about what they want in the next engineering dean," committee member and Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said.
The committee is working to replace civil engineering professor Feniosky Peña-Mora, who resigned in July following a faculty revolt. Former executive vice dean Donald Goldfarb has been serving as interim dean since then.
The committee is considering both internal and external candidates. Provost John Coatsworth, the chair of the committee, said in a recent interview that the engineering school needs a dean "who can provide a vision and leadership for the school."
"We need somebody who has managerial or administrative experience that can help the school realize that vision, expand and do it in an orderly, step-by-step way that will bring along the faculty and the students," he said. "And we need somebody whose academic or other credentials are impeccable, who has made some contribution to some field of engineering that everyone recognizes as important."
University President Lee Bollinger expressed a similar sentiment. Noting that SEAS has been rising in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings of the country's best engineering schools—it improved from 25th in 2007 to 16th this year—Bollinger said that "we really need a dean who will embrace that mission of steady improvement of the school."
"There's a real mission to try to help the school, and we want a dean who can do that," Bollinger said. "I think we need someone who is a very distinguished academic, who has a vision for the school that matches where we have seen its possibilities."
Qin said that while those attributes are important to students, he also wants a new dean who is ready to focus on students. Peña-Mora, while unpopular among faculty members, was popular among students for his support of student initiatives.
"I think students are going to be really interested in how the new dean can help undergraduate and graduate student life," Qin said.
According to Coatsworth, administrators recently hired a search firm to help the committee devise a strategy for its search process. Representatives from the search firm have been present at both of the committee's meetings.
Bollinger said that the committee will give him a list of three unranked candidates, from which he will select the next dean. Qin said that the committee will recommend candidates "as soon as possible," although its exact timeline has yet to be determined.
"Discussion will start within the next few weeks, if not sooner," Qin said.
The committee will also hold a town hall for faculty members soon.
"We're looking for the school to feel that it has really invested itself in its new dean, and that the relations, right from the start, will be strong and positive," Bollinger said.
margaret.mattes@columbiaspectator.com
2014-08-25T05:00:10Z
At a town hall hosted by the SEAS dean search committee Wednesday, much of the conversation revolved around former dean Feniosky Peña-Mora.
About 25 students came to the town hall, which was attended by 10 of the committee's 12 members—including Provost John Coatsworth, Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, and Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang, a doctoral candidate.
Committee members took turns responding to students' questions and concerns, many of which focused on Peña-Mora. He resigned as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science in July following a faculty revolt, although he was popular among students.
"When I visited Columbia for Days on Campus, I really appreciated Dean Peña-Mora's enthusiasm with the students. Although I know he's not going to be back, I do think that's a quality I would like to see in our new dean," Matthew Sheridan, SEAS '16, said.
One student noted that Peña-Mora was successful in bringing more women and minority students to Columbia. Another student suggested that the engineering school's faculty was overly resistant to changes proposed by Peña-Mora—a charge that committee member and materials science professor Katayun Barmak denied.
"They do want some intelligence about what changes are being promoted, because they are also leaders in their research, pushing back frontiers and trying to change the world," Barmak said. "Faculty are absolutely not resistant to change, but the manner in which the change is implemented and how relations are handled."
Although Peña-Mora is not involved in the search process, Coatsworth said that he would seek out the former dean's advice.
The search committee, which was established last month, is currently working without a set schedule, although Coatsworth said he hopes that it will be seriously considering candidates by December. He noted that the search firm that the University has hired to help with the process, Spencer Stuart, finds 85 percent of its candidates within the first six weeks of searching.
"We are hopeful that we will be able to find exceptional candidates in a relatively short amount of time," Coatsworth said.
Bollinger told Spectator last month that the committee would present him with three unranked finalists, but Coatsworth said that the committee's recommendations could take any form—a single name, a ranked list, or an unranked list.
Asked if former executive vice dean Donald Goldfarb, who is currently serving as interim dean, would be considered for the position, Coatsworth ruled nothing out.
"We certainly don't exclude him," Coatsworth said. "He's a great guy."
Some students at the town hall expressed concerns about whether the new dean will be able to integrate into the SEAS community, especially considering the fact that Peña-Mora clashed with faculty.
"We want to make sure we can do everything we can to ease the transition," Coatsworth said. He noted that a new administrative training program that his office will launch later this semester will be open to deans.
Several students emphasized that they want more interaction with the new dean and more chances to communicate their perspectives to the administration.
"I think it's important, especially for engineers, to have a dean that's present—present there and actively trying to make his or her presence known with the students," Chloe Blanchard, SEAS '16, said.
margaret.mattes@columbiaspectator.com
... About 25 students came to the town hall, which was attended by 10 of the committee's 12 members—including Provost John Coatsworth, Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, and Engineering Graduate Student Council President Andrew Kang, a doctoral candidate.
Committee members took turns responding to students' questions and concerns, many of which focused on Peña-Mora. He resigned as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science in July following a faculty revolt, although he was popular among students.
"When I visited Columbia for Days on Campus, I really appreciated Dean Peña-Mora's enthusiasm with the students. Although I know he's not going to be back, I do think that's a quality I would like to see in our new dean," Matthew Sheridan, SEAS '16, said.
One student noted that Peña-Mora was successful in bringing more women and minority students to Columbia. Another student suggested that the engineering school's faculty was overly resistant to changes proposed by Peña-Mora—a charge that committee member and materials science professor Katayun Barmak denied.
"They do want some intelligence about what changes are being promoted, because they are also leaders in their research, pushing back frontiers and trying to change the world," Barmak said. "Faculty are absolutely not resistant to change, but the manner in which the change is implemented and how relations are handled."
Although Peña-Mora is not involved in the search process, Coatsworth said that he would seek out the former dean's advice.
The search committee, which was established last month, is currently working without a set schedule, although Coatsworth said he hopes that it will be seriously considering candidates by December. He noted that the search firm that the University has hired to help with the process, Spencer Stuart, finds 85 percent of its candidates within the first six weeks of searching.
"We are hopeful that we will be able to find exceptional candidates in a relatively short amount of time," Coatsworth said.
Bollinger told Spectator last month that the committee would present him with three unranked finalists, but Coatsworth said that the committee's recommendations could take any form—a single name, a ranked list, or an unranked list.
Asked if former executive vice dean Donald Goldfarb, who is currently serving as interim dean, would be considered for the position, Coatsworth ruled nothing out.
"We certainly don't exclude him," Coatsworth said. "He's a great guy."
Some students at the town hall expressed concerns about whether the new dean will be able to integrate into the SEAS community, especially considering the fact that Peña-Mora clashed with faculty.
"We want to make sure we can do everything we can to ease the transition," Coatsworth said. He noted that a new administrative training program that his office will launch later this semester will be open to deans.
Several students emphasized that they want more interaction with the new dean and more chances to communicate their perspectives to the administration.
"I think it's important, especially for engineers, to have a dean that's present—present there and actively trying to make his or her presence known with the students," Chloe Blanchard, SEAS '16, said.
margaret.mattes@columbiaspectator.com
2014-08-24T20:00:02Z
An overwhelming majority of the School of Engineering and Applied Science tenured faculty recently voted no confidence in Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora, according to a SEAS professor—a new setback for the embattled dean.
"The vote of no confidence was overwhelming—on the order of 90 percent," a SEAS professor, who asked to remain anonymous because the vote was intended to be private, said.
According to the professor, the vote was a written, secret ballot taken over a number of days leading up to the day after University Commencement, which included "almost everyone" of the about 120 tenured SEAS faculty.
"For the moment it is intended to be private, I would imagine that if there's no satisfactory action taken, it will become public," the professor said.
The only satisfactory action would be Peña-Mora's removal, the professor said.
"There is no future for the dean in the school of engineering," the professor said. "When trust and when confidence has been lost to this extent, it is a totally unworkable situation, and not likely to be reversed."
A University spokesperson could not immediately comment on Friday evening. Peña-Mora, who was traveling Thursday, could not be reached through a SEAS spokesperson.
Peña-Mora has been harshly criticized by SEAS faculty members, many of whom have called for his resignation. The New York Times first reported in December that many senior professors had signed a letter to Provost John Coatsworth stating that the "morale of the faculty and their trust in Dean Peña-Mora are reaching an all-time low." Professors said that Peña-Mora had worsened SEAS' long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
"The dean's actions and way of dealing with the school has alienated an awful lot of people," the professor who asked to remain anonymous said.
In November, industrial engineering and operations professor Don Goldfarb was appointed to the newly created position of executive vice dean, which has absorbed many of the administrative responsibilities previously held by the dean. But the professor said that Goldfarb's appointment wasn't enough.
"The executive vice dean has helped tremendously, but it is still an unworkable situation," the professor said. "The dean has to be the dean."
Student SEAS representatives maintained their support of Peña-Mora. Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that the council is sticking to its previous statements.
"We support Dean Peña-Mora for what he's done with students," Qin said. "I can't really comment on faculty issues, I'm not privy to what faculty talk about, but from a student perspective, for what he's done for students, we support him there."
"He's generally popular among students," SEAS University Senator Akshay Shah, SEAS '14, said. "I don't want to comment on the relationship between the faculty and the dean, I don't know what the dynamic is."
"In my interactions with the dean, either as student or member of ESC or senator, he was always very open and respectful," Shah, the co-founder of EventSalsa, which has an advertising partnership with Spectator, said. "He tried to help however he could to improve student life or implement something like open course evaluations."
The vote comes as several local politicians recently came out in support of Peña-Mora, who was born in the Dominican Republic and lived in Washington Heights. According to city council member Ydanis Rodriguez, the chair of the council's higher education committee, Peña-Mora has a lot of support "especially in the community of color."
"It makes us so proud to know we have one of the best deans in the nation," Rodriguez said, adding that "the community is on alert" for any attempt by the University to remove Peña-Mora as dean.
Check back for updates.
Avantika Kumar contributed reporting.
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
... "The vote of no confidence was overwhelming—on the order of 90 percent," a SEAS professor, who asked to remain anonymous because the vote was intended to be private, said.
According to the professor, the vote was a written, secret ballot taken over a number of days leading up to the day after University Commencement, which included "almost everyone" of the about 120 tenured SEAS faculty.
"For the moment it is intended to be private, I would imagine that if there's no satisfactory action taken, it will become public," the professor said.
The only satisfactory action would be Peña-Mora's removal, the professor said.
"There is no future for the dean in the school of engineering," the professor said. "When trust and when confidence has been lost to this extent, it is a totally unworkable situation, and not likely to be reversed."
A University spokesperson could not immediately comment on Friday evening. Peña-Mora, who was traveling Thursday, could not be reached through a SEAS spokesperson.
Peña-Mora has been harshly criticized by SEAS faculty members, many of whom have called for his resignation. The New York Times first reported in December that many senior professors had signed a letter to Provost John Coatsworth stating that the "morale of the faculty and their trust in Dean Peña-Mora are reaching an all-time low." Professors said that Peña-Mora had worsened SEAS' long-standing space crunch, sacrificed graduate students' education for short-term profits, and compromised the quality of the faculty, among other complaints.
"The dean's actions and way of dealing with the school has alienated an awful lot of people," the professor who asked to remain anonymous said.
In November, industrial engineering and operations professor Don Goldfarb was appointed to the newly created position of executive vice dean, which has absorbed many of the administrative responsibilities previously held by the dean. But the professor said that Goldfarb's appointment wasn't enough.
"The executive vice dean has helped tremendously, but it is still an unworkable situation," the professor said. "The dean has to be the dean."
Student SEAS representatives maintained their support of Peña-Mora. Engineering Student Council President Tim Qin, SEAS '13, said that the council is sticking to its previous statements.
"We support Dean Peña-Mora for what he's done with students," Qin said. "I can't really comment on faculty issues, I'm not privy to what faculty talk about, but from a student perspective, for what he's done for students, we support him there."
"He's generally popular among students," SEAS University Senator Akshay Shah, SEAS '14, said. "I don't want to comment on the relationship between the faculty and the dean, I don't know what the dynamic is."
"In my interactions with the dean, either as student or member of ESC or senator, he was always very open and respectful," Shah, the co-founder of EventSalsa, which has an advertising partnership with Spectator, said. "He tried to help however he could to improve student life or implement something like open course evaluations."
The vote comes as several local politicians recently came out in support of Peña-Mora, who was born in the Dominican Republic and lived in Washington Heights. According to city council member Ydanis Rodriguez, the chair of the council's higher education committee, Peña-Mora has a lot of support "especially in the community of color."
"It makes us so proud to know we have one of the best deans in the nation," Rodriguez said, adding that "the community is on alert" for any attempt by the University to remove Peña-Mora as dean.
Check back for updates.
Avantika Kumar contributed reporting.
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
