Debasish (Deba) Dutta
Sr. Advisor to the President
University of Illinois System
Assumed office
September, 2023
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Debasish "Deba" Dutta is an American mechanical engineer and higher education administrator. He is currently a senior advisor to the president of the University of Illinois system.

Dutta has held various leadership positions, both at large public research universities and smaller regional institutions. He is the former Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint, Chancellor at Rutgers University–New Brunswick,[1] Provost of Purdue University, and Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Rutgers University--New Brunswick and Edward and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dutta is an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science[2] and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Career

University of Michigan-Flint

Dutta was appointed eighth chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint in June 2019. He helped turn around eight consecutive years of enrollment decline, posting a 3% increase in fall 2023.[3] He guided UM-Flint through the pandemic while creating a new College of Innovation and Technology, establishing the first regents-approved bylaws for shared governance, creating several named professorships for faculty, revitalizing and promoting faculty scholarship by creating three research institutes, increasing graduation rates by 10%, and surpassing previous fundraising records. He successfully led the efforts to raise $50 million from federal, state, and private sources for the construction of a new Innovation and Technology Complex to make UM-Flint an engine for economic growth. After four years as chancellor of University of Michigan-Flint, Dutta stepped down September 15, 2023 and joined the University of Illinois as Senior Advisor to the President. In the announcement, Dutta was applauded by the president of University of Michigan for being a strong advocate for UM-Flint and for his commitment and work transforming the institution. [4]

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Dutta was appointed chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick in July 2017. Dutta led the largest Rutgers campus with over 40,000 students, 2,000 faculty, and 5,000 staff. The Faculty Council viewed him as "a model for how administrators should interact with faculty in shared governance relationships.” Dutta created a new administrative structure for the campus to bring focus and accountability to key functional areas. He oversaw the matriculation of the largest first-year class in history, the reversal of a three-year decline in research funding, and increased alumni engagement. Dutta worked extensively with state legislators and business and community leaders to create institutional momentum around student success, affordability, and academic excellence.

On July 25, 2018, Dutta announced his resignation as chancellor, citing misalignment with the University's vision for the chancellorship.[5]

Purdue University

Starting in July 2014, Dutta served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Purdue University. In July 2015, he also assumed the role of Chief Diversity Officer for Purdue. His significant contributions to academic excellence, diversity and student success at Purdue were recognized by a Resolution of Appreciation adopted by the Purdue University Board of Trustees.[6]

When it was announced Dutta would leave Purdue for Rutgers in July 2017, Purdue President Mitch Daniels said of Dutta, "He has made an enormous and positive difference for Purdue and has proven himself an effective change agent in a sector where such people are scarce. Immensely talented leaders often attract the attention of others and so it is in this case."[7]

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dutta served as Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College from January 2009 until June 2014. He was responsible for facilitating and nurturing interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary connections, assuring integrity and quality of graduate programs, and providing essential graduate student services. In 2011, he chaired the steering committee for Stewarding Excellence at Illinois, an institution-wide program for cost control and organizational efficiency created in the face of falling state revenues.[8] He also chaired a campus-wide committee to assess doctoral education at Illinois including the size, quality, effectiveness, demand, and operational costs of individual doctoral programs.[9] At Illinois, he was Edward and Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering.

National Academy of Engineering

Dutta served as a Scholar in Residence at the US National Academy of Engineering and completed two projects: The Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering study,[10] completed and published in 2012, and the Educate to Innovate study,[11] completed and published in 2014.

National Science Foundation

In 2004, Dutta was tapped by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), the flagship graduate education and research traineeship program at NSF. Later, he was appointed acting director of the Division of Graduate Education, overseeing several education programs across the foundation. Dutta also served as Senior Advisor in the directorate. While at NSF, he helped create new partnerships with the National Institutes of Health and the Office of Naval Research. NSF Director Arden Bement appointed him to the NSF's strategic planning committee where he chaired the Learning and Workforce Development group for the Cyberinfrastructure Vision for the 21st Century.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dutta joined Michigan as assistant professor of mechanical engineering in 1989 and became full professor in 2000. He was director of the Program in Manufacturing and the founding director of InterPro, a unit established for interdisciplinary professional programs which grew and flourished for more than a decade.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Chancellor". rutgers.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Dutta, Debasish". AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society. 2016-08-01. Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  3. ↑ King, Robb (2023-09-12). "UM-Flint enrollment on the rise, exceeds 6,100 students for fall 2023". UM-Flint NOW. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ↑ Iseler, James (July 18, 2023). "Deba Dutta to step down as UM-Flint chancellor". The University Record. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  5. ↑ Carrera, Catherine. "Rutgers-New Brunswick chancellor resigns after 'clash' with university". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  6. ↑ "RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR DEBASISH "DEBA" DUTTA" (PDF). 16 June 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Daniels, Mitch. "Message from President Daniels". Purdue University Website.
  8. ↑ Illinois, Inside. "News Bureau | ILLINOIS". news.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  9. ↑ "AIDE History and Overview | The Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign". grad.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  10. ↑ Debasish Dutta; Lalit Patil; James B. Porter, Jr. (2012). Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering: Sustaining American Competitiveness in the 21st Century. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/13503. ISBN 978-0-309-26443-3.
  11. ↑ Arden Bement, Jr.; Debasish Dutta; Lalit Patil (2015). Educate to Innovate: Factors That Influence Innovation: Based on Input from Innovators and Stakeholders. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/21698. ISBN 978-0-309-36879-7.
  12. ↑ "Michigan Engineering | Interdisciplinary Professional Programs | Overview". umich.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
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