Michele Manuel, U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering
To our Swanson School community,
I am excited to begin the 2024-25 academic year with you as the 12th U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt. I want to thank everyone for welcoming my family and me to this incredible university and historic engineering program. I am thankful to Chancellor Gabel and Provost McCarthy for their support, as well as those who have helped me acclimate to the campus and Pittsburgh. I am especially grateful to my predecessor, Interim Dean Sanjeev Shroff, for his transformational leadership and continued passionate support for the school and Pitt.
Over the coming months, I am eager to learn the intricacies of our operations and culture, but most importantly I plan to listen to and engage with all our constituencies. My personal goals include working collaboratively and engaging in ideation; communicating frequently and often; and advocating for and empowering our community. Successful leadership transition should be an iterative process that encourages everyone to work and grow together. That will contribute toward the strategic planning that lays ahead.
We already have a solid foundation to build upon. Throughout the search process as well as conversations with many this past summer, I have been impressed with the pride of “Pitt Engineers.” In some ways, it resounds as greatly as the affinity people have for their alma mater. That is a tremendous strength for any academic and research program, one that resonates across faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I want us to embrace and shout that pride to help inform the mission ahead, which includes:
- Academic Exploration – strengthening teaching faculty and further expanding certificate and degree programs
- Empowering Students – embrace curiosity, elevate voices, and dedicate to continuous learning
- Research Convergence – eliminating barriers and expanding resources and initiatives
- Exponential Partnerships – creating new academic and research opportunities across campus and developing stronger alliances throughout Pittsburgh and its surrounding region, country, and the world
I’m excited to dive deep into this semester and actively engage with you as we advance the Plan for Pitt for the Swanson School of Engineering. As I noted earlier, everyone should feel empowered to contribute. We have tremendous growth potential – now we need to make our case for the global engineering program we want to be. Let us use that Pitt Engineering pride to design a new future for ourselves and those who will follow. Hail to Pitt!
Sincerely,
Michele V. Manuel, PhD
U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering
American Society of Metals, Fellow
National Academy of Engineering, Member