Professor transitions into new administrative role
February 13, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Driven by a desire to teach and conduct research, she came to Mississippi State University as an assistant professor of electrical engineering, ultimately working her way up the academic ranks to become a full professor and administrator of one of the university’s most diverse research centers. Now, nine years after first stepping onto the Starkville campus, Dr. Lori Mann Bruce has taken on a new challenge as the Bagley College of Engineering’s associate dean for research and graduate studies.
“I became a professor because I love teaching, and it will be hard to leave the classroom behind,” Bruce said. “But I also love working with graduate students and managing research, so I’m enjoying those aspects of the new position. With the active research programs in the engineering college affording more than $50 million in expenditures per year, this position is both challenging and exciting.”
Bruce officially made the transition to the dean’s office in October while the fall semester was still underway. Since that time, the active professor, researcher and adviser, has carefully balanced her responsibilities to her students with the demands of her new job.
Student recruitment, strategic management of distance education, and research funding are some of the issues Bruce plans to address in her new role. In four months, she has already helped form the Bagley Research Advisory Group (BRAG) and a distance education task force. Comprised of academic and research faculty, these groups will help provide feedback and ideas for the college’s future.
“I’ve been on a steep learning-curve these first few months, but we’ve already started working towards our goals. With BRAG, we are identifying our main research focus areas and evaluating the diversity of our funding,” Bruce said. “Another priority area is distance education. It includes 20 percent of our more than 500 engineering graduate students, so we must ensure that it receives strategic management as well.”
Bruce holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama, Huntsville (UAH) and a master’s from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to coming to MSU, she held teaching positions at UAH and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
A member of numerous engineering organizations, Bruce has been part of many international committees and review panels including an active role in the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society’s International Symposium.
For more information about the college’s research activities and graduate studies, contact Bruce.