Jason Keith, Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering interim dean, will lead his department on a full-time basis beginning June 1, the university announced Friday.
After assuming the interim role in March 2014, he was the top applicant yielded by a national search process.
The State College Board is expected to approve his selection next month.
Keith, a 2014 Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education, previously served as the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering director.
“Our undergraduate program continues to maintain a very strong reputation among industry leaders. We want to maintain that excellence and continue to grow the competitiveness of our graduate and research programs,” he said in a release. “We have some of the best alumni in the nation. Their support has had a substantial impact on making the college what it is today and will be instrumental as we work to grow and reach our goals.”
Keith spent 11 years as a Michigan Technological University faculty member. He received a chemical engineering bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron and a doctoral degree in the same field from the University of Notre Dame.
“I am confident that Dr. Keith will be an outstanding leader for the Bagley College of Engineering,” said Jerome Gilbert, MSU provost and executive vice president, in a release. “He has proven skills and a well-articulated vision to lead the college into the future.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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