[CCoE Notice] Introducing the College's New Director of the UH-Dalian Institute

[Knudsen, Rachel W]

[University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering] <https://www.egr.uh.edu>

Dear Cullen College Faculty and Staff,


I am pleased to report that our new partnership with Dalian Maritime University, the UH-DMU International Insititute (UH-DMU), is off to an auspicious start. The inaugural cohort, which is approximately 180 students, will be welcomed as official UH Cougars this fall. Based off our current enrollment trajectory, the institute is projected to have over 1200 students in the program by 2025. This is vital in our college’s mission to achieve our enrollment goals set forth in our strategic plan. The Cullen College thanks Dr. Li Sun for his commitment and leadership in these efforts as Program Director. The Institute has exceeded all expectations, and I am excited to see how it progresses. As UH-DMU continues to grow and evolve, we must be proactive in responding to its changing needs and any challenges that may arise, and as such, the College will institute some leadership and organizational changes to ensure the successful continuity of the program. As part of this restructure, Dr. Roberto Ballarini will assume the position of Director of the UH-Dalian Institute. This change is effective today, June 1.


Dr. Ballarini joined the Cullen College as Chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in the Fall of 2014. He previously served as James L. Record Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at University of Minnesota, Leonard Case Professor of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, and F.W. Olin Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Dr. Ballarini earned his B.E. in Civil Engineering from City College of New York, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University, and his research accomplishments span many areas, including theoretical, computational and experimental mechanics of materials and structures associated with civil, mechanical, aeronautical, biomedical, chemical and materials engineering. Among his extensive list of accolades, Dr. Ballarini was recently awarded the Raymond D. Mindlin Medal in 2019 and elected as a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) this year.


Dr. Ballarini has made great strides in creating close ties with leadership at Dalian Maritime University and has made numerous visits to the campus. His knowledge of the University and the relationships he has built will be invaluable resources in the coming years as UH-DMU continues to mature.


In his new role, Dr. Ballarini will work to promote the University of Houston and assist local leadership in Dalian in their outreach, recruitment and retention efforts; work with our college's Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Distance Learning to plan the academic mission at UH-DMU and to provide any necessary student services; work with non-UH faculty in preparing, qualification and teaching based on UH curriculum; work with the Cullen College department chairs of electrical and mechanical engineering to recruit and schedule instructors at Dalian, and provide, with the help of local staff at Dalian, the support needed by visiting UH faculty; work with the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs to help recruit students wishing to pursue graduate degrees at UH; work with the Director of Engineering Programs at UH Katy to schedule and manage courses that are to be delivered online at UH-DMU; work with the Cullen College Communications team to regularly disseminate news and achievements of UH-DMU; work with the Executive Director of Business Operations to develop and manage annual budgets for the Institute; and provide annual reports on student success metrics as needed by UH Institutional Research, and as requested by the dean, provost and the president for dissemination to UH stakeholders.


I look forward to Dr. Ballarini’s forthcoming leadership of UH-DMU and warmly thank Dr. Sun for getting us to this point. UH-DMU has the potential to help us reach our strategic goals and beyond, and I have the utmost confidence that Dr. Ballarini’s directorship will ensure this potential develops into reality. Please join me in congratulating him in his new role!


Thank you and all the best,

[https://www.egr.uh.edu/sites/www.egr.uh.edu/files/enews/images/tedescosignature.png]

Joseph W. Tedesco, Ph.D., P.E., F. ASCE

Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean

Cullen College of Engineering

www.egr.uh.edu<https://www.egr.uh.edu>

[Joseph W. Tedesco] <https://www.egr.uh.edu>

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