News

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has appointed Cem Karacal, PhD, professor and associate dean in the School of Engineering, as interim dean beginning January 1, 2016. Karacal steps in for Dean Hasan Sevim, who is retiring effective December 31, 2015. 

Sevim joined SIUE in 2006 as the Dean of the School of Engineering (SOE) after beginning his career in 1983 at the SIU Carbondale campus as an assistant professor. He eventually rose to associate dean of the SIUC School of Engineering. 

“I want to thank Dean Sevim for his 33 years of service to the SIU System, but especially for his leadership as dean,” said Denise Cobb, SIUE interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It is through Dean Sevim’s hard work and leadership that the School has enjoyed tremendous growth and success. He will be missed. 

“Dr. Karacal now has the opportunity to work with the faculty and build on Dean Sevim’s successes.”

Karacal joined the SOE faculty in 1993 and has served in several School and University-wide capacities.  “Dr. Karacal exemplifies the teacher-scholar model that we value so much,” Cobb said. “He thoroughly understands how to be an effective teacher, a fact that was recognized when his colleagues twice nominated him for the SIUE Teaching Excellence Award. He is also an accomplished scholar with over 30 refereed scholarly publications. Likewise, his dedication to student success is evident and highly valued.”

For example, Karacal is the principal investigator for the five-year, $830,000 National Science Foundation STEP grant. The grant’s goal is to improve engineering graduation rates at SIUE via a holistic approach that includes mathematics enrichment sessions, mentoring, tutoring and student engagement. He is also a member of several engineering professional and honor societies, such as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Tau Beta Pi and Alpha Pi Mu. 

During the last six years, Karacal has emerged as a leader within the SOE serving as the associate dean and director of the cooperative PhD program in engineering science. Previously, he led the industrial engineering program. During that time, he helped develop the master’s program in industrial engineering and served as the graduate program director during the program’s initial years.

Karacal was also instrumental in the development and implementation of the highly successful partnership between Istanbul Technical University and SIUE. The industrial engineering dual diploma program began in 2007, and he currently serves as the program coordinator. 

During his tenure, Karacal has played important roles on campus by coordinating the Excellence in Undergraduate Education program for four years and serving on the Undergraduate Research Academy Review Board for 10 years. The 2+2 agreements the School of Engineering established with local community colleges during his tenure as the associate dean set the standard for similar agreements. 

Karacal recently coordinated the accreditation of six School of Engineering programs for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). In addition, he helped secure initial ABET accreditation for SIUE’s industrial engineering program in 2008.

Photo:  Cem Karacal, PhD, professor and interim dean of the SIUE School of Engineering.