COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO – Jeremy Haefner, dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will serve as associate vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the graduate school, university officials announced today, July 12.
Haefner, a member of the UCCS faculty since 1989 and dean of engineering since 2002, will continue as dean of engineering, adding Graduate School and research administration to his duties. He was selected following an on-campus search. Haefner replaces Tom Huber who served as associate vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school since 2005. Huber will return to a teaching position in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. The appointment was announced by Peg Bacon, interim vice chancellor, Academic Affairs.
“Dr. Haefner’s passion for research and innovation is without equal,” Bacon said. “I am pleased that he has accepted this challenge and look forward to his continued success.”
As associate vice chancellor, Haefner will provide oversight for federal, state and industrial research grants directed to UCCS. The position also encourages faculty to participate in non-sponsored research and creative efforts to improve understanding in their fields and address regional issues.
“I look forward to working with the faculty to assist them in their research efforts and to working with the community at making UCCS an innovation campus,” Haefner said.
In 2006, UCCS received more than $10 million in externally funded research to assist faculty members in their studies. More than 150 proposals were generated by the university’s approximately 200 tenured or tenure-track faculty members. Projects ranged from a study of the human mind, tracing changes from Neanderthals, to the influences of adults on children called to testify in court.
Haefner, a professor of mathematics, has studied integral representation theory. His research received federal funding from the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation. Additionally, he received CU honors for his use of technology to teach mathematics on-line, allowing rural high school students to take advanced math courses. In 2007, he completed an American Council on Education fellowship and in 2002 he was an Educause fellow with the National Learning Initiative.
He began at UCCS in 1989 as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in 1993, professor in 1998, and was named dean in 2002. Haefner holds master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa.
UCCS, 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 29 bachelor’s degrees, 18 masters’, and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,600 students annually.