College of Engineering Leadership Transition

January 28, 2025

Dear Members of the CMU Community, 

I write to share the news that William H. Sanders, who has served as the Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering since January 2020, has decided to step down from his role in June. Dean Sanders has accepted the exciting opportunity to serve as president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) starting in July.

During his five years of leadership at CMU, Dean Sanders has made many significant contributions to our entire academic community, and under his guidance, the College of Engineering has thrived. He led the development of Engineering’s strategic plan, which has put the college on a strong upward trajectory and has driven its mission forward in new and exciting ways. 

Dean Sanders has worked strategically and diligently to expand CMU’s global imprint, and in partnership with leaders across the university, secured a transformational partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that enabled CMU-Africa to double its enrollment to over 300 students from more than 20 African countries and establish both the Center for the Inclusive Digital Transformation of Africa and the Afretec Network. In collaboration with leaders across the college, he launched several key educational initiatives, including the world's first master's degrees in AI Engineering, a new undergraduate additional major in Engineering Design, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and several new online graduate certificates. 

To support the engineering community, he led efforts to create the Belonging Center, which hosts community-building activities and programming, and the new Center for Faculty Success, which provides resources to support faculty achievement. Additionally, Dean Sanders significantly expanded the college’s center-scale research activities and established the Alumni Awards program to honor distinguished members of the College of Engineering community for their accomplishments, innovations and advancements.

A recognized leader in his field, Dean Sanders was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2023, one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer, highlighting his contributions to cybersecurity and resiliency technologies for critical infrastructures. His commitment to academic excellence, student success and innovative research has positioned the college for future growth and achievement. I am grateful to Dean Sanders for everything he has done to elevate this important mission.

In the coming weeks, I will announce the formation of a search committee to identify the next leader for this important position. Vijayakumar (Kumar) Bhagavatula, the Helen Whitaker Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has agreed to serve as interim dean starting in June to ensure leadership continuity during this transition period.

Please join me in congratulating Bill on this next step in his journey as a leader in higher education. His contributions to CMU and the College of Engineering are deeply appreciated, and I have no doubt he will continue to bring the same spirit of collaboration and innovation to his role as the president of Rochester Institute of Technology.

Sincerely,

James H. Garrett Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer