Engineering Dean To Step Down Next Year

Venkatesh “Venky” Narayanamurti announced today that he will step down as dean of the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS) and dean of the physical sciences in June 2006, surprising professors in the department who first heard the news this morning.

Venky has led a resurgence in the importance of engineering at Harvard and his departure next year will come at a critical point in DEAS development into the North Yard and Allston.

The division’s expansion has been gaining momentum ever since a report last year by the Allston Science and Technology Task Force stated that the University was “significantly underinvested” in engineering and needed an infusion of faculty, students, and money in order to maintain its competitiveness with peer institutions.

Venky, who came to Harvard from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1998, has made progress on all three counts—increasing the faculty by 50 percent, doubling graduate student enrollment, and raising $31 million for the division’s Challenge Fund.

But Venky said yesterday that returning to teaching and research is a “natural evolution” for his career at this point in time.

“I always thought that in my position, seven to 10 years is a good time,” Venky said today after a meeting of DEAS faculty, which Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby attended. “Given my age, I thought I had gotten the Division to a good place.” Venky, who is 66, was appointed dean of DEAS in 1998 and dean of the physical sciences in Sept. 2003.

In a statement released today, Kirby thanked Venky for his “energetic and effective service.”

“Thanks to Venky, planning for future growth across the physical sciences and in DEAS is well underway,” Kirby said. University President Lawrence H. Summers also released a statement thanking him for helping to expand engineering.

According to Kirby, the search for a new dean will begin early this summer.

“There’s no question [Kirby] will conduct a broad search inside and outside the University,” said Venky, who will take a one-year sabbatical after he steps down. “I wanted to give him plenty of time to find a successor.”

Venky said that he began thinking about stepping down as dean almost eight months ago, and informed Kirby, Summers, and University Provost Steven E. Hyman, who all tried to dissuade him, Venky said.

“I put it on hold because the University was in such turmoil,” said Venky, emphasizing that his decision had nothing to do with the events of the past few months.

Venky’s announcement makes him the third senior administrator to resign this semester. Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Peter T. Ellison announced in February that he will step down at the end of this academic year and Dean of the Graduate School of Education Ellen C. Lagemann announced in March that she will also step down in June.

E-MAIL SURPRISE

Venky informed DEAS faculty and staff about his decision to step down early this morning in an e-mail. DEAS faculty met with Venky later in the day in a regularly-scheduled faculty meeting, which ended with loud and resounding applause.

“They were in shock about what will happen next because I think that they really like me as dean,” Venky said. “There’s a sense of happiness for me but it’s worrisome for them.”

“It was unexpected,” said Frederick H. Abernathy, who is McKay professor of mechanical engineering and Lawrence professor of engineering, after the faculty meeting. “No one who I know will be happy that he is leaving. His interpersonal skills are incomparable at Harvard.”

Wang Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Roger W. Brockett said that though people were surprised by this morning’s e-mail, Venky’s retirement was a matter of “sooner rather than later.”

“I perfectly well understand why he would want to step down given all the responsibilities he had,” Brockett said. “It was a very big job.”

Ever since he was appointed as the dean of DEAS in 1998, Venky’s stated priorities for the division have been expanding its faculty and student enrollment to make engineering at Harvard more competitive with other schools. According to Venky, 16 senior faculty appointments have been made in DEAS during his time as dean.

The number of graduate students rose from 72 in 1998 to 150 today, with graduate applications more than tripling in the same period, according to Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesman Steve Bradt.

Venky, who currently oversees seven graduate students, said that he is looking forward to going back to teaching, which he calls the “best job at a university.”

Venky said he will also help develop new engineering courses for non-concentrators in the College in order to “make engineering and technology more of a Harvard College experience.”

“I’m at peace with myself,” he said. “I love Harvard and I love the Division. I’m very happy with what I’ve done.”

—Staff writer May Habib can be reached at habib@fas.harvard.edu.