Ross B. Corotis, dean of the University of Colorado at Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science, has resigned from his position effective at the end of the current academic year, July 31, 2001, Vice Chancellor Phil DiStefano announced today.
A professor of civil engineering with a background in structural mechanics and stochastic vibrations, Corotis has been dean of the engineering college at CU-Boulder since 1994. His innovations in engineering education have led to construction of the college聮s highly acclaimed Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and this year聮s groundbreaking for the Discovery Learning Center.
In recognition of Corotis聮 many successes as dean, he will be named to hold the engineering college's Denver Business Challenge Professorship, an endowment whose earnings will be used to further Corotis聮 research and scholarly work. He will also continue his teaching duties in civil engineering.
"Ross has accomplished a great deal for the college over six very successful years," said Richard L. Byyny, chancellor. "His achievements include the construction of two new buildings, the acquisition of a building for the Herbst Humanities Program, a quadrupling of the college聮s endowment to more than $60 million, and development of an international reputation for the college as a leader in engineering education paradigms."
Corotis said a new strategic plan for the college is completed and the time to step down is appropriate. He will assist DiStefano and the college in its search for a new dean.
Corotis received his undergraduate and graduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a faculty member at Northwestern University and Johns Hopkins University before coming to CU-Boulder.
Corotis is a member of the American Concrete Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, Engineering Society of Baltimore, and the Board on Assessment charged with reviewing National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories and programs.
He also is an elected member of the executive board of the Engineering Deans Council, an organization of the American Society for Engineering Education that represents more than 300 engineering colleges throughout the United States.