June 10, 2011
John Warwick named engineering dean at SIUC
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The acting vice president for academic affairs of the Nevada System of Higher Education's Desert Research Institute will be the new dean of the College of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Chancellor Rita Cheng today (June 10) announced the appointment of John J. Warwick. The appointment, subject to ratification by the SIU Board of Trustees, is effective Aug. 1.
Warwick also is executive director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and a research professor at the Desert Research Institute, which conducts cutting-edge applied research in air, land and life, and water quality throughout Nevada, the U.S. and internationally.
“Dr. Warwick’s extensive leadership experience, his record of attracting private and public funding and his outstanding scholarship will further strengthen the College of Engineering and our University,” Cheng said. “I am pleased he is joining our team and look forward to his many contributions.”
Cheng added that Warwick received strong support from across the campus following his visit in late April, and she expressed her appreciation to the search committee.
Provost John Nicklow said he is “particularly pleased” Warwick accepted the position, noting, “He has a prominent record as a scholar and leader, and he brings a new level of enthusiasm and excitement to the position. He is committed to working with external constituents for fundraising, and he is focused on further increasing the visibility of our College of Engineering among prospective students and parents.”
Warwick has served as acting vice president for academic affairs at the Desert Research Institute since last September, which followed a two-year appointment as interim executive vice president for research. Since 2010, he also has served as executive director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and as director of the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute, positions he also held from 2002 to 2008.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work with the students, staff, faculty and alumni of the College of Engineering to develop and implement a truly compelling strategic plan for the college,” Warwick said. “For me, the overarching goal is to continuously improve the quality of the total educational experience for current and future students, both undergraduate and graduate.”
Warwick earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in civil engineering, from Lehigh University in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He earned his doctorate in environmental engineering from The Pennsylvania State University in 1983, joining the University of Texas at Dallas as an assistant professor in the environmental sciences graduate program that year. He later became an associate professor there and served as director of the university’s Institute for Environmental Sciences from 1989 to 1991.
Warwick joined the University of Nevada-Reno as an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Resource Sciences in 1991, becoming a full professor in 1996. He served as director of the graduate program in hydrological sciences from 1993 to 1999 and 2007 to 2008. He remains an adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering there.
Warwick was professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida from 1999 to 2002, also serving as director of the NASA Environmental Systems Commercial Space Technology Center there from 2000 to 2002.