Provost David Campbell announced Friday that College of Engineering Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Sol Eisenberg will fill the ENG dean post until a permanent dean is named early next year.
The position was left vacant Sept. 22 when Campbell, the previous ENG dean and provost ad interim, became the permanent university provost – an office Campbell had been temporarily filling since July 2004.
“I’m excited. It is not something that I sought necessarily,” Eisenberg said. “Provost Campbell had been doing both the provost ad interim and ENG dean jobs at the same time, so myself and the other associate dean were carrying a bit more of the load.
“But I am pleased that Provost Campbell offered me the position and I accepted it readily,” he continued.
Eisenberg started his career at BU in January 1983 and has been associate dean since September 1998. He is a professor in the biomedical department, but does not currently teach classes.
He received his undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eisenberg’s colleague in the biomedical department Irving Bigio said Eisenberg’s extensive experience will be helpful in his new position.
“Sol has a good sense of equanimity and will be able to balance demands pulling from different directions,” he said in an email. “He knows the college well and would be committed to support of all departments. He enjoys a good deal of trust among the faculty and is perceived as being fair and even-handed.”
Eisenberg said he “doesn’t have grand initiatives for the next nine months,” but said he wants to make sure the college progresses. He said he is currently focusing on getting to know the day-to-day operations of managing an entire college with faculty, undergraduate and graduate programs.
“Realistically, my main goal is to keep us moving forward,” he said. “I do not want to be in a holding pattern. Otherwise, you tend to fall behind your peers.”
ENG sophomore Steve Pytlar said although he does not expect Eisenberg to make any large changes, he said there are several issues the college needs to start addressing.
“I’m not really sure how much he can control,” he said. “If anything, the biggest problem, as far as I’m concerned, is that every test average is like a 50. The tests should not be easier, but the average should be more like a 75. We should actually learn the stuff and not having to worry about beating the curve.”
Bigio said the position gives Eisenberg the opportunity to represent ENG within the university.
“I hope he will be a strong advocate for the College of Engineering, especially regarding resources, growth and targeting of opportunities for enhancement,” he said. “I hope he will work with the provost and the president to quickly improve the salary competitiveness of the college and the university.”
Eisenberg said Campbell and Brown are currently in the process of setting up a search committee to secure a permanent dean.
“I won’t be a candidate for the permanent position,” Eisenberg said. “It’s not the right fit for me or the university. I expect to return to my duties as the associate dean, if the new dean wants that.”