PULLMAN, Wash. – Candis Claiborn, dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture who led the college for a decade, has announced that she will step down from her position at the end of her term in August.
Claiborn, one of just a few female engineering deans in the U.S., led the college through the budget challenges of the 2008 recession as well as through the unprecedented growth that has followed. Since 2009, enrollment in the college has increased by 65 percent, at both the undergraduate and PhD levels, and research expenditures have grown by 75 percent. With support from industry and government leaders around the state, the college during her tenure began engineering and computer science programs across the state in Bremerton and Everett to meet the needs of place-bound, often non-traditional students. Claiborn oversaw the renaming of the college and a successful Campaign for WSU, in which the college exceeded its $125 million fundraising goal.
While she has built engineering and computer science programs around the state, Claiborn also worked at every turn to support women and underrepresented students and faculty in the traditionally male-dominated field. As dean, she was a principal investigator on a $3.75 million, NSF ADVANCE grant that aimed to increase representation and advancement of faculty women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The grant developed new strategies for faculty recruitment, retention and advancement.
“I would like to express my gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve you as the dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture for the past ten years,” she said in a statement to Voiland College faculty and staff. “These years have at times been difficult, but more often exhilarating, and our college has emerged as a key cornerstone of WSU, critical to our land grant mission, and a true jewel in the university’s crown.’’
Regarding Dean Claiborn’s contributions during her two terms as dean, Interim Provost Ron Mittelhammer said “As our longest serving dean, Candis has provided substantial and impactful leadership that has resulted in substantial growth of the Voiland College in multiple critical dimensions, including student enrollment, quality of academic programming, the research enterprise, and the reach of the college throughout Washington state. WSU is very grateful for her dedication and contributions to the advancement of the university’s strategic Land Grant mission”.
Claiborn will return to her faculty position as a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. With WSU since 1991, she conducts air quality research in the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, where she has studied atmospheric-biospheric interactions of trace gases. She also developed a research program in atmospheric aerosols, in which she collaborated with colleagues in the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Eastern Washington University, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She served as the college’s associate dean of research and graduate programs from 2002 to 2005.
Claiborn holds a B.S. from the University of Idaho, and a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in chemical engineering.
“I am very optimistic and excited about the future of our college and look forward to watching our new faculty grow in their positions as their teaching, research and scholarship programs become established,’’ she said in her message to faculty and staff. “I expect to see continued enrollment growth at all degree levels. Our research programs are critical to the priority Grand Challenges articulated by WSU, and to continued economic development in Washington state and beyond.”
Contact:
Candis Claiborn, dean, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, (509) 335-5593, Claiborn@wsu.edu
Tina Hilding, communications coordinator, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, (509) 335-5095, thilding@wsu.edu
