Dennis Assanis, a professor at the University of Michigan and Director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, has been named as the new Provost of Stony Brook University and VP for Brookhaven Affairs.
The position had been vacant since July after Erik W. Kaler left for the University of Minnesota where he is now President.
“I am honored and thrilled to join President Sam Stanley and his exceptional team to pursue the vision of making Stony Brook one of the leading public Universities in the U.S. and the world,” Assanis said in a statement.
He was chosen by a search committee made up of university officials, faculty and students that met multiple times during the spring semester.
“There were many great candidates but what really stood out about Dr. Assanis was the passion he had for teaching and its importance, particularly in undergraduate education,” said Alexander Dimitriyadi, who was on the search committee. “I think at a major research university that point is sometimes forgotten, but he truly gets it.”
As provost, Assanis will be responsible for academics and will work closely with the deans and departments to form academic missions for Stony Brook.
“Dennis Assanis is a distinguished scholar, teacher and leader,” said President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr. “Most important for Stony Brook is that Dennis is an exceptional leader, with the ability to bring together people such as social scientists and engineers, to collaborate and tackle some of the most important issues of our time. This multi-disciplinary leadership style will be critical to his role as Provost.”
The appointment will take affect October 1.
Check back for more updates in the coming days.