Messages

Dear UMass Dartmouth Faculty and Staff, 

After in-depth conversations with four candidates, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Chancellor Professor Qinguo Fan as UMass Dartmouth's Interim Dean of the College of Engineering (COE), effective immediately. As interim dean, Dr. Fan will provide excellent leadership to COE to ensure its continued success in supporting students, faculty, and staff, enrollment expansion, and program development.  

Dr. Fan is a Chancellor Professor of Bioengineering. He joined COE in 1998 as an assistant professor, received tenure, and was promoted to associate professor in 2004. He was subsequently promoted to the ranks of Professor and Chancellor Professor in 2010 and 2019, respectively. Prior to entering academia, he was the R&D Manager at Novel Textile Ltd, Mauritius, and a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. In addition to serving as the chairperson of the then-newly-created Department of Bioengineering (BNG), he has served as a graduate program director, chaired the COE Academic Council, and was a faculty Senator for a decade. During his eight‐year tenure as the BNG chairperson, he worked tirelessly with the BNG faculty to develop a comprehensive Bioengineering undergraduate program, which included an accelerated BNG‐BMEBT BS-MS program and formed an Industrial Advisor Board for the department. Dr. Fan played an important role in the department’s transformation from Materials & Textiles to Bioengineering. As the department chairperson, he led the department through its undergraduate program's inaugural ABET accreditation in 2016.  

Dr. Fan's academic contributions are equally impressive. Since joining the faculty at UMass Dartmouth, he has published 65 scholarly journal articles, seven book chapters, 43 conference proceedings, edited one book, and holds two patents in the areas of nanocomposite and auxetic structure. His research efforts as a PI have been recognized with over $782,000 in external grants, primarily focusing on polymers, digital printing, and textile materials.  

Dr. Fan's service to COE and UMass Dartmouth has been invaluable. His dedication and leadership in various roles have significantly contributed to the growth and success of the College of Engineering. Please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to him for taking on this new role. I also want to express my gratitude to Associate Dean Iren Valova for stepping into the role of Acting Dean at a busy time of the semester and providing steady leadership to ensure a smooth start to the academic year.  

Sincerely, 

Ram 

Ramprasad Balasubramanian, PhD 
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs