Former Cornell University Vice Provost and Professor Named Provost & Chief Academic Officer at Asian University for Women (AUW); Ashok Keshari, IIT Professor Named Dean of Math, Science & Engineering

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Jun 16, 2010, 08:00 ET

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Asian University for Women (www.asian-university.org) has appointed American engineering professor Dr. Mary J. Sansalone as its Provost & Chief Academic Officer, effective July 1, 2010. Dr. Sansalone, 51, was one of the first female professors to earn both tenure and the rank as professor as a member of the engineering faculty at Cornell University where she later served as Vice Provost of academic programs. Following her career at Cornell University (1987-2006), she served as Dean of Engineering & Applied Sciences at Washington University. She studied literature and engineering at the University of Cincinnati from which she graduated summa cum laude. She went on to pursue graduate study at Cornell where she earned a Masters and a PhD in Structural Engineering. Prior to turning to academic administration at Cornell, she spent a year at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, obtaining a Masters in Public Administration. Recognized as both a scholar and an outstanding teacher, in 1992 Dr. Sansalone was named "U.S. National Professor of the Year" by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation.

In announcing the appointment, Mr. Jack R. Meyer, the Chairman of the Board of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation commented that "AUW is indeed fortunate to have attracted a truly outstanding academic and academic administrator to this key position in this critical time in the development of our young institution. As Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Mary Sansalone will direct academic program development at all levels at the University as well as help recruit the best faculty we can find to teach at our University. She brings to AUW deep knowledge of the academia from some of the most outstanding institutions of higher education anywhere. We look forward to working with Mary in turning AUW into truly a center of excellence for the education of women."

The appointment of Dr. Sansalone follows a year-long search by a committee chaired by Professor Henry Rosovsky of Harvard University and Ms. Ritu Banga of the Board of the AUW Support Foundation. The other members of the Search Committee were: Kamal Ahmad, founder and Acting Vice-Chancellor of AUW; Professor Dipak Jain, former Dean of the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University; Ms. Janet Montag from the AUW Support Foundation Board; and Professor Richard Saller, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities & Sciences at Stanford University.

Members of the Search Committee offered their praise for Dr. Sansalone's appointment. Professor Henry Rosovsky commented, "Dr. Sansalone has worked in universities for her entire life, much as I have. Her experiences as a professor, researcher, and academic administrator have prepared her well to play a leading role in this extraordinary venture. We are very lucky to be able to attract a person of this caliber." Professor Richard Saller echoed Mr. Rosovsky's sentiments. "Mary Sansalone brings to the position of Chief Academic Officer of AUW both the experience of higher education at some of the best universities in the world and a passion for the cause of education of women from under-served areas. I am confident that she will work hard to make the AUW graduates into the sort of leader that she is. We are fortunate to have her."

Don Randel, currently the President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the former Provost of Cornell University and the University of Chicago, spoke of Dr. Sansalone's strong record of achievement at Cornell. "Mary Sansalone has the engineer's gift for solving hard problems in a systematic way and the great teacher's deep concern for the academic success and personal well-being of her students. Her leadership in advancing personally the cause of individual women in science and engineering has been truly exceptional."

The Asian University for Women also announces the appointment of Dr. Ashok Keshari, currently a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi as its new Dean of Math, Science, and Engineering. A recognized expert in the field of environmental engineering, Dr. Keshari brings to AUW a strong academic background as a teacher and a scholar and a talent for building new academic programs. The search for the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences is in process with an appointment expected by the fall.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080827/ASIANUNIVLOGO)

SOURCE Asian University for Women