Rafert Named Dean of the Graduate School
Dr. J. Bruce Rafert, chair
of the Department of Physics at Michigan Technological University, has
accepted a three-year appointment as dean of the Graduate School, effective
September 1, MTU Provost W. Kent Wray has announced. In addition, Rafert
will serve as interim dean of distance learning through June 30, 2002.
Rafert was chosen for the deanship
following an extensive internal search. In addition to leading the physics
department, he is chair of the Isle Royale Institute's Executive Planning
Committee and was one of the founding directors of the interdisciplinary
Remote Sensing Institute.
He was appointed by Governor
John Engler to be Michigan's representative to the Aerospace States Association,
a position he has held since 1995, and serves on Michigan Tech's Strategic
Planning Group.
"Bruce has demonstrated
near-boundless enthusiasm for graduate studies, and he has considerable
experience as a graduate student advisor and mentor as well as an administrator,"
Wray said. "He has shown great leadership in nurturing a growing
graduate program while physics grad programs nationally have been declining."
Since Rafert came to Michigan
Tech in 1995, the Department of Physics has seen a significant increase
in undergraduate enrollment and a 380-percent hike in externally funded
research expenditures. Over 10 percent of PhDs awarded at Michigan Tech
in recent years have been in the field of physics, and Rafert has helped
develop proposals for three new PhD programs.
Wray cited Rafert's interdisciplinary
activities as a factor in naming him graduate dean. "Throughout his
involvement in interdisciplinary research programs, Bruce has demonstrated
outstanding collegiality," Wray said. "He is a powerful advocate
for programs he supports, and he supports graduate study and scholarship.
"In addition, he has an
excellent grasp of the University's strategic plan and will be able to
fulfill that plan within the Graduate School."
Rafert came to MTU from the
Florida Institute of Technology, where he was a professor in the Department
of Physics and Space Sciences and was named both Researcher of the Year
and Teacher of the Year. He is the author or coauthor of dozens of publications,
and has been the sole principal investigator on over $5 million in externally
generated support for multidisciplinary research activities, with funding
from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and other government agencies,
as well as industry.
Rafert looks forward to working
with graduate faculty throughout Michigan Tech. "This is an opportunity
to build internal bridges between the Graduate School and other sectors
of the University," he said. "That was my strategy in the physics
department, and as graduate dean, I'll be able to work with everyone.
"The challenges that lie
ahead of us will require the best efforts of us all, working together
as a team with both passion and vision," he said. "I'm really
looking forward to it."
8/15/01--MTU067
