Dr. Joseph Cecchi, who has over a decade of experience as dean of the School of Engineering at UNM, will continue in the position through June of 2017, according to a UNM press release.
Provost Chaouki Abdallah, who is responsible for all academic personnel at the University, announced the move after consulting with faculty and staff at the school, according to the release.
Cecchi served as dean from 2000-2009, and has been in the seat since February of 2014, according to the release. “(He) is the best choice to continue to lead the School of Engineering through the next couple of years, as we go through accreditation and the remodel of the Farris Engineering building,” Abdallah said in the release, citing his past experience as a large factor.
Cecchi was also recently named the new associate provost for national laboratory relations, partly due to his work in fortifying UNM’s partnerships with national labs. It is a new position reflecting “the increasing activities with the laboratories and UNM collaboration without increasing the University’s financial commitment,” according to a University statement.
He has held a variety of positions over the course of a career that spans more than forty years, appearing at many institutions including Princeton, Harvard and the Masdar Institute of Science of Technology in Abu Dhabi, according to http://cbe.unm.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/joseph-cecchi.html. He has been at UNM since 1993, teaching courses in chemical and nuclear engineering over that span.
David Lynch is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @RealDavidLynch.