Engineering dean named president of Oregon Tech

November 16, 2016 | News, UToday
By Meghan Cunningham



Dr. Nagi Naganathan, dean of the College of Engineering, has been named the seventh president of the Oregon Institute of Technology.

Naganathan, who has served UT for 30 years, will begin his tenure at Oregon Tech in the spring.

Naganathan

Naganathan

“I am honored to have served The University of Toledo for 30 years working with dedicated faculty and staff committed to the success of our students,” Naganathan said. “It is difficult for me and my family to leave Toledo, but I am confident both the College of Engineering and the University will enjoy continued success. I am truly grateful to UT and the city of Toledo for all the opportunities through the three decades. I am excited about this new opportunity with Oregon Tech and will take many fond memories with me from Toledo as my family joins the Oregon Tech community.”

Naganathan joined the UT faculty in 1986 and has led the College of Engineering as dean since May 2003 after serving as the college’s interim dean for two years. He is a tenured professor of mechanical, industrial and manufacturing engineering, with expertise in smart material systems and structures, robotics, vibrations and control, and microcomputer applications in electromechanical systems.

“Dr. Naganathan has greatly enhanced the reputation of the UT College of Engineering in his 13 years as dean of the college. Our engineering program is one of only eight in the country with a comprehensive co-op requirement, and has an exceptional job placement rate for our graduates,” UT President Sharon L. Gaber said. “We thank him for his contributions to The University of Toledo as a faculty member since 1986, and for his service as interim president of the University from 2014-15. We wish him well in his exciting new role at Oregon Tech.”

Under Naganathan’s leadership, the College of Engineering has achieved record high student enrollments and elevated its mandatory co-op experience program — one of only eight in the nation — exceeding 15,000 placements in partnership with more than 1,600 employers in more than 40 states in the U.S. and in more than 30 countries.

He grew the College of Engineering with the addition of the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex and the Thomas and Elizabeth Brady Engineering Innovation Center. Naganathan also created the Engineering Leadership Institute with philanthropic support from Roy and Marcia Armes. Roy Armes is a 1975 UT mechanical engineering graduate who served as CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

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