Michael Vaughan Appointed
Senior Assistant Dean

Effective July 1, 2006, Michael L. Vaughan has been appointed Senior Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering.  Formerly Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Vaughan has expanded his focus to two major areas in the new position:  educational administration and external affairs.  While these two umbrellas cover a variety of activities and programs, they are “everything to do with student success and the recognition of achievement,” Vaughan says.

“I see this appointment as a chance to consolidate and streamline our procedures for serving the needs of students outside the classroom,” says Dean Eric W. Kaler.  “I also welcome Michael’s involvement in a larger number of external activities involving all of the constituencies in the college, including our alumni and other partners.”

Vaughan’s responsibilities in the area of educational administration include educational support, diversity and success, and recognitions and events.

“College educational support focuses on providing the infrastructure for students to succeed,” Vaughan says.  “My job here is to promote an active interface with the various organizations on campus that provide support to our students to ensure that these resources align with the changing needs of our students.”

As the former director of the College’s RISE program, Vaughan is passionate about the second area, diversity and success, and he emphasizes that both within the College and across the University as a whole, this means promoting diversity and success outcomes in their broadest sense.  “We want to expand our focus and work to achieve a balanced academic community,” he says, “in which the diverse contributions of everyone, from undergraduate and graduate students to faculty and staff, are recognized and valued.”

Finally, Vaughan sees his involvement in events as a logical outgrowth of his work in the first two areas.  “College-level events and recognitions are very important,” he says, “because they’re a vehicle for celebrating success.  Occasions like Commencement, Convocation, and Honors Day exemplify the spirit of success modeled within the College and at the University.”  Additional activities such as seminars by outside speakers and technical talks further enhance the academic environment.

Vaughan’s work in the external affairs area also encompasses three focal points: strategic alliances, alumni relations, and advancement.

“In our effort to position the College and our students for success, it’s essential that we partner with many types of organizations, ranging from K-12 schools in Delaware to alliances, foundations, companies, and government agencies.”  These partnerships contribute to better preparation of pre-college students as well as provide funding for educational infrastructure maintenance and enhancement.

Alumni, both personally and professionally, are another resource critical to the success of the College and its current students.  “We value our alums and believe that the relationships, opportunities, and resources that they have within their spheres of influence can help us significantly in preparing our students for careers in engineering,” Vaughan says.

He looks to the future in addressing College advancement, the third component of the external affairs effort.  “Here, we’re talking about image enhancement and marketing,” he explains.  “This is critical because if we get everything else right but we don’t tell the College’s story in a compelling way that inspires people to action, then we haven’t finished our work.”  He’s looking to establish new media channels and enhanced “branding strategies” for the College.  “This is all about what we’re known for,” he says, “and continuing to answer the question, ‘What is our value proposition within the engineering educational landscape?’”

“I’m really excited about this new challenge and my role within the College of Engineering,” Vaughan concludes.  “Recently, I began to consider new ways that I could contribute to our College, and this opportunity provided by Dean Kaler gives me the forum to do that.  My personal philosophy on education is that students should begin to see the possibilities for their own growth, development, and success as soon as possible in their academic careers, and I think that we are continuing to create an environment which informs this process.  I consider this new appointment an extraordinary privilege and it is my intention to do all that I can to move us further along this pathway.”

On campus, Vaughan is a member of the University-wide Council on Student Diversity and Success and serves as chairman of the council’s Colleges’ Student Services & Affairs Steering Committee.  Additionally, he serves on many external boards and committees, including the President’s Advisory Committee of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council, and he is Board President of Delaware Futures, Inc., Investment Committee Chair of the National GEM Consortium, and a Trustee of Bethel AME Church, Wilmington, DE.

Dean Vaughan joined the University of Delaware in 1992 after prior experience as Assistant to the Dean of Engineering/Adjunct Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University and a Senior-level Electronics Engineer at the Naval Underseas Warfare Center in Newport, RI.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University in 1982 and 1984, respectively.  During his graduate work, he was a Micro-Electronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) Fellow.  He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Delaware.

by Diane Kukich