On June 18, two UMR faculty members filled new positions created as part of UMR’s restructuring.

Venkat Allada, professor of engineering management and systems engineering, became vice provost of graduate studies and Robert W. Schwartz, professor and associate chair of materials science and engineering, will become vice provost of academic affairs.

The positions were created as part of an administrative restructuring that eliminated the university’s four main academic units: the School of Engineering, School of Management and Information Systems, School of Materials, Energy and Earth Resources, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

As vice provost for graduate studies, Allada coordinates graduate programs with UMR’s academic departments, overseeing graduate fellowship programs, reviewing graduate degree and certificate programs, and developing funding opportunities for graduate programs.

A member of the UMR faculty since 1994, Allada also serves as associate chair of engineering management graduate studies and director of UMR’s Sustainable Design Laboratory.

As vice provost for academic affairs, Schwartz oversees several academic support functions currently provided by the deans’ offices. He coordinates new degree program development, promotion and tenure, new-faculty mentoring, program reviews, and budget management and strategic planning efforts.

A member of the UMR faculty since 2002, Schwartz served as president of the UMR Academic Council from September 2005 to September 2006. He currently chairs the council’s Rules, Procedure and Agenda Committee.