I am pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Evan Bentz as Vice Dean Undergraduate (VDU) for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2029.
Professor Evan Bentz joined the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering in 2000 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and became a full professor in 2017. Professor Bentz has served as the Associate Chair, Undergraduate in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering since 2016. Additionally, he served on, and chaired, the Faculty Academic Appeals Board, and Faculty Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
Among his many achievements, Evan was awarded several ACI Design Awards, the Faculty Teaching Award, and the Civil Engineering Professor of the Year Award. His research expertise is on the behaviour and numerical modelling of cracked reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. He developed the shear design equations used by all Canadian and Australian bridge and building designers and by US concrete bridge designers. His computer program Response has been downloaded by over 100,000 engineers and researchers in 157 countries.
Please join me in congratulating Evan on his appointment and wishing him a rewarding journey for his term.
I extend my deep appreciation to the following members of the Advisory Committee for this search for their time and thoughtful input:
- Helen Bright, Faculty Registrar
- Professor Deepa Kundur, Chair, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)
- Professor Teaching Stream, Micah Stickel, (ECE)
- Professor Markus Bussmann, Chair Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE)
- Associate Professor Teaching Stream, Dawn Kilkenny, Vice Dean First Year
- Parker Johnston, Former President – Engineering Society
- Inho Kim, President – Engineering Society
- Lisa Camilleri, Chief Administrative Officer, FASE
I also would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to Professor Tom Coyle who served as Vice Dean Undergraduate since 2015. During his tenure as Vice Dean Undergraduate, he led us through the preparation and successful execution of the 2018 CEAB visit, and chaired the Faculty task forces on mental health, academic workload, and the Black Inclusion Steering Committee. He tirelessly advocated for and supported design teams, grew the UnERD conference, and led the strategic renewal of the PEY Co-Op program. The Faculty thanks him for all his hard work.