Jeffrey Goldberg Named Interim Dean of UA College of Engineering

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Jeffrey Goldberg Named Interim Dean of UA College of Engineering

Jeffrey Goldberg

Jeff Goldberg, associate dean for academic affairs at the college, will take over for Thomas Peterson

By Jeff Harrison, University Communications
November 13, 2008

Jeffrey Goldberg, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering at The University of Arizona, has been named interim dean of the college. Goldberg replaces Thomas Peterson, who announced in September that he will step down to become the new assistant director of engineering for the National Science Foundation beginning in January.

Goldberg also is an associate professor of systems and industrial engineering, and director of the bachelor of arts in engineering program at the UA. He graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University, and has a doctorate in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan, and has been at the UA since 1985.

His research interests include facility layout and location, designing and operating emergency vehicle service systems, and using mathematical models to help solve decision problems. He is a past recipient of the Shingo Prize for excellence in manufacturing (Outstanding Paper award, 1994), and spent a year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a visiting professor in the department of systems engineering.

"The College of Engineering is a key pillar within the UA's colleges, and I am very pleased that Dr. Golberg has agreed to serve in this critical interim leadership capacity," said Meredith Hay, UA executive vice president and provost. "His academic credentials, combined with his enthusiastic commitment to lead the college through the transformation plan, make him the ideal choice."

Hay said that Peterson's departure, while unfortunate, is a point of pride for the UA as he prepares to lead the National Science Foundation's engineering directorate. That unit of the independent federal agency provides support for the nation's engineering research activities and is a force behind the training and development of the U.S. engineering work force. Its $640 million budget supports fundamental research, the creation of cutting-edge facilities and tools, broad interdisciplinary collaborations, and through its centers and Small Business Innovation Research program, enhances the competitiveness of U.S. companies.

Before coming to the UA, Goldberg was a senior systems analyst for Vector Research Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a technical staff member at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, working on a variety of projects. Those included facility location problems, human interface design, distributed database design and decision aids for field artillery commanders.

As associate dean for academic affairs, Goldberg manages recruiting, academic programs and student placement in the College of Engineering. He has strong interests in increasing the retention rate of engineering students, improving their classroom experiences, and increasing student learning and diversity among the engineering student population.