For the last 13 years M. Lewis Temares has been the dean of the College of Engineering and the vice president of information technology (his original position upon arriving at UM).
Now, Temares has decided to step down from his role as dean, for he believes a dean should only hold his position for eight to 10 years. He said as times change, new leaders are required to go along with new changes.
“I came at a time when the engineering college needed some organization, direction and refocus,” Temares said. “I think [the school] now needs to go toward a new focus.”
Temares also said that Provost Thomas LeBlanc and President Donna E. Shalala want to place UM on the list of top 20 leading universities in the American Association of Universities. The AAU is an organization comprised of 60 leading research universities in the United States.
In addition, Temares said the new dean will focus more on academics in contrast to administrative issues, which was his focus.
Though Temares is stepping down from his role as dean, he will still keep his title as vice president of IT. Also, he will continue to serve as dean until a successor is agreed upon for fall semester.