KU School of Engineering dean to retire

LAWRENCE -- Carl E. Locke Jr., dean of the University of Kansas School Engineering, will retire from the post at the end of the academic year, officials announced today.

Locke, who has served as dean of the engineering school since 1986, will remain at KU as a faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

When he retires, his 16 years of service as dean will mark the second-longest tenure in the engineering school's history. Only Frank O. Marvin, who served 20 years as the school's first dean, will have served longer.

A committee will be formed soon to begin a national search for Locke's successor, Provost David Shulenburger said. The committee intends to name a new dean before the start of the fall 2002 semester.

"Carl Locke has been an exemplary dean. His integrity and extensive knowledge of the profession have made him a national leader in engineering education," said Shulenburger. "The school has thrived under his years of stewardship. I am grateful that he will remain on faculty here, where his advice and friendship will still be readily available to me."

As dean, Locke oversees a school that includes 10 fields of undergraduate study and 15 graduate degree programs. He has played a pivotal role in the school's successful fund-raising efforts. He also is credited with attracting exceptional faculty, hiring 59 of the 92 faculty currently teaching in the school.

"It has been a distinct honor to have served as dean. The School of Engineering has been blessed with a dedicated, extremely competent faculty and staff. Any success of the school has been due to all of their efforts and accomplishments. The quality of the students is outstanding, and they become outstanding alumni.

"One of the greatest personal pleasures has been the contact with KU engineering alumni around the world. My wife, Sammie, who has been an important part of my tenure as dean, and I look forward to many more years as part of the KU School of Engineering family," Locke said. Locke also served as the director of the Center for Research Inc. (CRINC) at KU from 1986 to 1997.

Prior to joining the KU faculty, he taught at the University of Oklahoma for 13 years, serving six of those years as director of the School of Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences. Before that, he spent 11 years working in industry. Locke earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Texas. He was named a distinguished graduate of the UT College of Engineering in 1993.

At the national level, Locke has been an accreditation visitor in chemical engineering since 1985 and was an accreditation visitor for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools from 1992 to 2000. He has held several offices in the Association of Corrosion Engineers since 1963. In 1998, he served as the National Society of Professional Engineers' chair for Professional Engineers in Education. He currently is chair of the Engineering Dean's Council of the American Society of Engineering Education.

On the state level, he has been active in the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers and served as chair of the society's legislation committee. The society named him Kansas Engineer of the Year in 1996.