Robert Ettema is the new dean for the University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science. (UW Photo)

UW Selects Dean of Engineering and Applied Science

July 16, 2007 - New University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Robert Ettema likes the pioneering spirit he finds at UW.

"I got the sense that the college and the university are well poised to move ahead,” says Ettema, who was hired in June. “The quality of the people here, the ambiance of the campus, the commitment of the state, the support from the alumni and the practice all seem very positive."

"Professor Ettema has an outstanding professional record as a teacher, scholar and leader in his field, and he was my first choice in a field of highly-qualified applicants for the position," says Myron Allen, UW vice president for academic affairs. "I am confident that Professor Ettema will provide exactly the leadership needed to guide the college into a future made bright by the vision and hard work of Dean Gus Plumb."

Allen says Plumb will remain a member of the college’s faculty.

Ettema takes charge of the college at a time when other changes are in the works. In June, the UW Board of Trustees voted to approve changing the college’s name to the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Ettema says he endorses the new name.

"I think it broadens the embrace," Ettema says. "The college has two very good applied science non-traditional engineering departments in atmospheric and computer sciences. I would like to build on the opportunities they present."

He says he plans to emphasize graduates' critical communication skills and leadership in the community. His priorities also include more investment in developing students and increasing research and graduate programs at the college.

Ettema comes to Wyoming from New Zealand by way of Iowa. Because his father was a welder and later owned a steel fabrication factory, he first planned to be a structural engineer. Growing up in New Zealand, Ettema developed a keen appreciation for the outdoor recreation it offered, and shifted his interest to water engineering and coastal resources.

After earning undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees from the University of Auckland, Ettema joined the University of Iowa, where, for eight years he served as a department head, while also serving a term as editor of the American Society of Civil Engineer's Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. Earlier he had served as acting and associate director of the renowned Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research.