When you work closely with a person you form insights into his or her character and aptitude. Ordinarily what you glean about a colleague's values and effectiveness is not a subject of broad interest. Given the recent discussion of Dennis Irwin's leadership of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, however, there is merit in articulating why we have confidence in his abilities and know him to be a person of integrity.
There are three things that influence Dennis's approach to his job ' his long-term personal commitment to the success of Ohio University, his dedication to students and faculty and the high value he places on being fair and honest. Dennis has been at Ohio University since 1987. His research in aerospace engineering, his teaching and his service to Russ and to the university at large have been deemed excellent by entities both inside and outside the university. Given the level of Dennis's accomplishments, he has long had the option of moving to another institution or back into industry. He elected to stay, spending 20 years investing his energy and ideas into Ohio University. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff have been the direct beneficiaries of his loyalty. His establishment in November of a scholarship bequest that will allow classified staff to complete undergraduate degrees is just one recent manifestation of the allegiance that Dennis has for this institution. That loyalty motivates him to strive for excellence in the performance of his responsibilities.
You do not have to work with Dennis long to understand that the administration of his college centers on ensuring that his students receive the best engineering education possible. Being an outstanding teacher in his own right, he will not accept anything less. His genuine concern for students also extends to those who are enrolled in all of the other colleges at Ohio University. Since becoming dean in 2002, he has faced many difficult decisions as resources have grown tighter. While he has always been an effective advocate for his college in these circumstances, Dennis has also tried to work with other deans to ensure that their students are not unduly disadvantaged by hard choices. Likewise his concern for facilitating recruiting of outstanding professors is evident in the composition of the faculty in Russ. Russ stands out among engineering colleges nationally for its balance of research and teaching. Outside reviewer reports prepared for the recent seven-year reviews of several engineering departments confirm this characteristic of the faculty. A strong engineering college with excellent faculty and a genuine student focus does not happen organically. It takes the type of thoughtful, passionate leadership that Dennis has exhibited during the past five years.
In the time we have worked with Dennis, he has been honest and fair in all of his interactions. Differences abound as they always will at any complicated institution such as Ohio University, but Dennis does not hold grudges. We all trust him fundamentally because of his willingness to be forthright but balanced in his approach to difficult decisions. Dennis means what he says and will follow through even if the necessary action will not be to his advantage. As much as anyone who works for the university, he wants this institution to succeed. He has helped it do so with his dedication and principled leadership.
Being a dedicated and principled leader does not provide immunity from difficulties. On his watch, Dennis has confronted a number of challenges, has accepted responsibility for those that are appropriately part of his jurisdiction as dean, has taken action to resolve them and by dint of hard work has managed to keep Russ moving steadily forward. During this academic year, the class that entered Russ was the largest in 10 years, five outstanding professors ' including three women ' joined the faculty and progress has been made on many of the goals outlined in the college's strategic plan.
Dennis's loyalty to the university, his strong commitment to students and faculty and his honesty and fairness are things that we see on a weekly basis working with him. We also see other important aspects of his leadership that never make it into the realm of public discussion ' his sense of humor, his compassion for the people that he works with, his engineer's scorn for memos longer than two pages and the pride and joy that he takes in the accomplishments of his students, staff and faculty. All of these characteristics combined make him an outstanding colleague and a genuine contributor to the academic excellence which is the hallmark of this institution. This letter was submitted by Ann Fidler, Dean of the Honors Tutorial College, and signed by John Brose, Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine; Glenn Corlett, Dean of the College of Business; David Descutner, Dean of University College; Charles McWeeny, Dean of the College of Fine Arts; Renee Middleton, Dean of the College of Education; Gary Neiman, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services; Benjamin Ogles, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Gregory Shepherd, Dean of the Scripps College of Communication.
17 Archives
Letter to the Editor
