On the basis of a five-year review that is standard for all full-time academic administrators, Chancellor Gary S. May recently invited College of Engineering Dean Jennifer Sinclair Curtis to be reappointed for a second five-year term. However, Curtis has decided to serve through the current calendar year and then, after a sabbatical commencing in January, return to teaching and research in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

In a message to college faculty and staff announcing her decision earlier today (June 22), Curtis said, “Given your outstanding expertise, ingenuity and commitment to UC Davis, I am fully confident that our college and university will continue to achieve even greater heights of excellence.”

“Dean Curtis has moved our College of Engineering forward since her arrival on campus, growing not just in the number of students and faculty but advancing student success and faculty research achievements,” said May, himself a former engineering dean. “I thank her for her service.”

“More than most I understand Jennifer’s decision to return to the faculty and to her research and teaching,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter, making precisely that transition at the end of this month. “I have so enjoyed working with Jennifer. I have very much appreciated her positive attitude, her transparency, her commitment to students, and above all her mentorship of women in engineering.”

May indicated that a national search for a new dean will commence later this year under the leadership of Provost-designate Mary Croughan. Croughan will also consult with members of the college and campus community to identify interim leadership effective Jan. 1, should the new dean, as is likely, not yet be named.