PHILADELPHIA – University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price today announced that Eduardo Glandt has agreed to extend his term as dean of Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science until June 30, 2015. 

Glandt is the Robert D. Bent Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.  He became dean in 1999 and had been scheduled to step down on June 30, 2012. 

“Dean Glandt is a remarkable leader who has fostered a vibrant and highly collaborative community of innovation,” Gutmann said.  “He has recruited absolutely stellar faculty and made Penn Engineering a magnet for exceptional students.  We are confident that Eduardo will continue to lead Penn Engineering to ever greater heights.”

The extension follows consultations with the elected SEAS Faculty Council, deans, senior officers of the University, the chairs of the Faculty Senate, Penn Board of Trustees chair David L. Cohen and SEAS Board of Overseers chair Andrew Rachleff.  They were unanimous in their praise for Glandt’s achievements as dean.

As dean of Penn Engineering, Glandt has planned and implemented successful strategic initiatives in information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology. 

“Penn Engineering is now pushing the boundaries in areas such as, information systems, nanotechnology and biological engineering,” Price said.  “He has solidified the School’s excellence by recruiting and retaining outstanding junior and senior faculty and increased the size of the SEAS faculty by almost 17 percent.“

The School’s growing impact is evident in its impressive scholarly productivity index, numerous faculty and student awards, strong corporate relations and remarkable track record of placing its students in the highest positions in academia, industry and government.

Glandt has raised funds to greatly expand and modernize the School’s physical plant, constructing exceptional, award-winning buildings, such as Skirkanich Hall, the Melvin J. and Claire Levine Hall and the forthcoming Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology, which are dramatically transforming the infrastructure for technological education and research at Penn.

Under Glandt’s leadership, Penn Engineering’s research funding has more than doubled, as has the School’s endowment. 

“Extending Eduardo’s term for an additional three years will maintain the School’s strong momentum, through and beyond the closing of the current Making History campaign,” Gutmann said.

These dramatic strategic accomplishments – combined with distinctive interdisciplinary programs offered in collaboration with other Penn schools, such as Management and Technology, Digital Media Design and the new Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Market and Social Systems Engineering – have made Penn Engineering a magnet for exceptional students. 

Prospective students are especially attracted by the many opportunities to enhance their engineering education by studying with faculty across the University and to prepare themselves for leadership roles not only in engineering and applied science but also in medicine, business and law.  In particular, Penn Engineering continues to experience significant growth in recruiting, enrolling and retaining female undergraduates, opening the doors to women for future careers in science, technology and related fields.