Jamison appointed Dean of VCU’s School of Engineering

By Anne Buckley

RICHMOND, Va. (May 4, 2006) – Virginia Commonwealth University today announced the appointment of Russell Jamison, Ph.D., to be dean of the VCU School of Engineering, effective July 1, 2006.

Jamison has been a professor of bioengineering and materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1998 and is a former director and co-director of its Technology and Management Program.

Jamison has extensive experience in both higher education and in corporate management, which dovetails with VCU’s plan to co-locate its new School of Business with the expansion of the School of Engineering.

“Dr. Jamison’s experience and approach to the mission of engineering education is a perfect match for VCU’s School of Engineering, which is focused on the connections between business, life sciences and engineering,” said VCU President Eugene P. Trani. “We expect the interaction between the School of Engineering, VCU Life Sciences and the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park to grow and be enhanced under his leadership.”

In addition to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jamison was a member of the faculty at the United States Naval Academy. He served as principal consultant to Health Technology Resources, a Tennessee-based company and as senior vice president for research and development at Smith & Nephew Orthopedics, also in Tennessee.

“I’m delighted to come to VCU and be a part of this exciting chance to continue the growth and excellence of the School of Engineering,” Jamison said. “VCU presents a unique opportunity to combine business, medicine and engineering in creative programs for undergraduate and graduate students.”

Jamison earned his doctoral and undergraduate degrees from Virginia Tech and his master’s degree from the University of Virginia. He is a prolific researcher with more than $800,000 in current funded research. His research interests are tissue engineering and he holds four patents.

“In addition to being a creative and effective administrator, we are looking forward to him leading the school as it moves into its next phase, which will have business and engineering students living and studying together to foster more bench-to-market research,” said Stephen Gottfredson, VCU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.  “He is a good fit for the concept.”

The schools of Engineering and Business are major components of VCU’s new Monroe Park Campus Addition, where a new building is being erected for the business school, and a second phase of the engineering school is being built. The new facilities will allow the schools to add about 2,000 students.

The VCU School of Engineering is a 1,200-student school that was established in 1996 to respond to the needs of the international engineering community, business and the manufacturing sectors of both Virginia and the United States.

Robert J. Mattauch, Ph.D., a founding faculty member, is retiring from the dean’s position effective June 30 and will remain on faculty. He initially was chair of the electrical engineering department and was named dean in 1999.