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William A. Kline Named Dean of Innovation and Engagement
April 2, 2012
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is taking another
progressive step in higher education as President Matt Branam has
appointed William A. Kline, Ph.D. as the college's first Dean of
Innovation and Engagement. This position will officially
begin with the 2012-13 academic year.
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William A. Kline, Ph.D
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Kline has been a leader in innovation and engagement efforts
during his 10 years as an academic leader and faculty member
at Rose-Hulman. He is currently serving as Interim Dean of
Faculty, and has been Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Associate Dean for Professional Experiences, Interim Head of
the Department of Engineering Management, and Associate Professor
of Engineering Management.
"Bill has a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship
development, and he is the ideal person to lead our efforts in the
areas of innovative learning experiences and executive education,"
stated Branam. "Our alumni and other working professionals have an
overwhelming demand for professional development being presented in
the same quality as the undergraduate degrees they received at
Rose-Hulman."
Branam pointed out that Rose-Hulman is currently adapting five
classrooms in Myers Hall with the capacity to deliver online
courses, continuing education, and professional development
materials throughout the world using state-of-the-art delivery
technologies. Kline has been directing both this facility
enhancement and last summer's new Student Innovation Center, a
16,000-square-foot facility, which is now the hotbed of creativity
and innovation on campus.
"Our faculty members are great teachers and leaders in their
career fields. That expertise is highly coveted by companies and
corporations striving to keep their engineers and executives on top
of the latest developments and certified in their fields," Branam
said.
As Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of
Faculty, Kline has led Rose-Hulman's efforts to promote a culture
of innovation and best practices of being innovative to educate
students for careers in the ever-changing, high-tech world. He has
organized innovation workshops during the past two summers for
faculty members to examine innovative and creative teaching
techniques in engineering, science and mathematics and to serve as
a catalyst to develop new programs and initiatives. He started
monthly "Innovation Hour" sessions to educate members of the campus
community to new practices being adapted in academic, residence
life, and student service areas at Rose-Hulman.
"Innovation has emerged as a critical priority for organizations
of all types to ensure prosperity and future success," said Kline.
"Rose-Hulman's role as a leader in undergraduate engineering,
science and math education will require us to always be on the
cutting edge of innovative teaching techniques and learning
experiences that deliver more value from every available
resource. Engineers, scientists and mathematicians will be
the leaders of this implementation."
A paper written by Kline and Engineering Management Emeritus
Professor Thomas A. Mason on the topic "Being Innovative -- Lessons
Learned from the Practice of Technology Commercialization,"
examining the success of Rose-Hulman Ventures, will be featured at
the 2012 American Society of Engineering Education's Annual
Conference this summer. He was also a co-author of the papers
"The Innovation University" and "Innovation -- An Imperative for
National Competitiveness and Engineering Education."
Kline joined Rose-Hulman in 2001 and has earned the rank of
Professor of Engineering Management. His teaching and professional
interests include systems engineering, quality, manufacturing
systems, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He has a patent on a
method developed to measure small increases in machine tool drive
motor power.
After earning high academic honors at Illinois
College, Kline earned bachelor's and master's degrees in
industrial engineering from the University of Illinois, followed by
a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Prior to joining
Rose-Hulman, Kline co-founded Montronix, a company in the global
machine monitoring industry.