Home » UK dean of College of Engineering elected president of Milwaukee School of Engineering

UK dean of College of Engineering elected president of Milwaukee School of Engineering

John Y. Walz
John Y. Walz

Has been dean since 2012

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 10, 2016) — John Y. Walz, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, has been elected president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). His term begins July 1.

MSOE is an independent, non-profit university with about 2,900 students that was founded in 1903. The institution offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, business and nursing.

Walz has been in his current position since 2012. Previously, he was professor and department head of chemical engineering at Virginia Polytechnic and State University.

During his time at UK, the UK College of Engineering’s enrollment has reached record levels, increasing the number of engineers released into Kentucky’s workforce each year. In the fall of 2015, the college welcomed more than 800 students in the incoming freshman class and more than 3,000 students in the college for the first time. At the same time, the Engineering Residential College has grown to 700 students and a freshman design lab has been introduced to meet the demand.

Under Dean Walz’s leadership, the college has also seen a significant increase in gifts investing in students, faculty and facilities, including the $7 million gift made by F. Joseph and Joani Halcomb this year to transform biomedical engineering at UK.

Walz earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Walz began his career as a support engineer for Shell Oil Company and later returned to Tulane as assistant professor after earning his Ph.D. In 1997, Walz joined Yale University’s faculty as an associate professor of chemical engineering, becoming the department’s chairman in 2002. He remained at Yale until 2005 when he assumed his position at Virginia Tech.