Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Debasish "Deba" Dutta has rejoined the University of Illinois System as a senior advisor to the president. In that capacity, he will focus his energies on the Discovery Partners Institute and on nurturing partnerships with international entities.
Deba’s depth of experience as an educator and administrator in research-intensive institutions and regional institutions will be invaluable in facilitating a variety of collaborations within the system, with other institutions of higher education and with various levels of government.
Deba started in his new role today. He is based in the DPI headquarters in Chicago.
From 2009 to 2014, he served as associate provost and dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also was the Gutgsell Endowed Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering. Deba also briefly served as interim vice chancellor for research. During his tenure at Urbana, he helped develop new interdisciplinary programs, foster new research collaborations across colleges and establish a comprehensive program for the assessment of quality and effectiveness of doctoral programs.
Deba started his academic career at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he rose to associate chair of mechanical engineering and founding director of interdisciplinary programs in the college. He has also served in leadership roles at the National Science Foundation and as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity at Purdue University; was chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick; and for the past four years served as chancellor of the University of Michigan, Flint.
We’ve made a great deal of progress these past few years in inspiring innovation and collaboration within the system, throughout the state and across the globe. Deba will help accelerate our progress in those partnerships, and I am thrilled to welcome him back.
Tim Killeen
President
