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| Tom Christensen |
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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO — A physicist and veteran administrator at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will lead the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the university pending approval of the CU Board of Regents, university officials announced today, Jan. 18.
Tom Christensen, 48, was selected following an internal-to-the-campus search to replace Linda Nolan. Nolan served as dean from July 2002 to Dec. 2004. The CU Board of Regents will consider Christensen’s appointment at the Jan. 20 meeting. If approved, he will begin Jan. 21.
Rogers Redding, vice chancellor, Academic Affairs, announced Christensen’s appointment.
“Tom Christensen is a outstanding faculty member of this university with a proven record as a leader and as an administrator,” Redding said. “I am pleased that he has agreed to apply his skills to this position and to lead the university’s largest college.”
Christensen said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead our college. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students who make up our community of scholars as we move the college forward.”
Christensen joined CU-Colorado Springs in 1989 as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Energy Science. In 1994, he was promoted to associate professor and, for seven years, served as the department chair. He also served the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences as associate dean and interim dean. Prior to joining CU-Colorado Springs, he served as a technical staff member at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. His areas of research include nanotechnology surface, and thin film physics.
Christensen has received numerous awards including the 2003 Chancellor’s Award and teaching awards in 1993 and 1996.
He earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
As dean, Christensen will be responsible for the daily operation of the largest college at CU-Colorado Springs. This fall, more than 3,700 full-time students were enrolled in on-campus programs offered by the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.
Editor’s note: A photograph is available on request