HR Notices From Nov. 25
UM Names Hu Interim Research VP: The University of Michigan board of regents has approved the appointment of S. Jack Hu, a professor in the College of Engineering, as the interim vice president for research for a two-year term, effective Jan. 1. As vice president, Hu will have overall responsibility for nurturing the excellence and integrity of research across the entire campus. He will oversee the UM Office of Research, which encourages interdisciplinary research, oversees research policy, provides central administrative services in support of faculty research, scholarship, and economic outreach, and manages activities related to compliance and the responsible conduct of research. Hu will continue to hold the titles of professor of mechanical engineering, professor of industrial and operations engineering, and the J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing Technology. Hu succeeds Stephen R. Forrest, who announced in September that he would step down as vice president for research in January to return to research and teaching in CoE. Since 2009, Hu has served as the associate dean for academic affairs in CoE. Previously, he was associate dean for research and graduate education. From 2002-06, Hu was the director of the Program in Manufacturing and executive director of Michigan Interdisciplinary and Professional Engineering. Recently, he also has worked with the UM President's Office on President Obama's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a working group advising the administration on how to bolster American manufacturing. A member of the UM community since 1985, Hu's teaching and research interests include manufacturing systems design and operations, assembly modeling, and statistical quality methods. He has received a number of awards for his work, including the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the ASME William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award, the College of Engineering Research Excellence Award, and several best paper awards. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering. He currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Manufacturing Systems. Hu received his Bachelor of Science degree from Tianjin University, China, in 1983, and Master of Science and doctoral degrees from UM in 1986 and 1990, respectively.
Roman Named President Of OCC Highland Lakes Campus: Cynthia Roman was named president of the of the Oakland Community College Highland Lakes Campus Monday. Roman received both her Ph.D. in higher education and her master of science in nursing from Wayne State University. She earned her bachelor of science in nursing from Mercy College of Detroit and holds registered nurse licenses in Michigan and Arizona. She is also certified by the National League for Nursing as a nurse educator. Roman was appointed OCC's Dean of Nursing and Health Professions in April 2012. Prior to arriving at OCC, she was Dean of Health Sciences and Director of Nursing at Monroe County Community College. Earlier, she was Oakland Community College's Director of Nursing and Health Professions. Before that, she was nursing program coordinator and a member of the nursing faculty at Henry Ford Community College. Roman also served as a consultant to the University of Michigan-Flint and as an advisory committee member for Lourdes College and the Grosse Ile School District. She is a member of the Michigan League for Nursing, National League for Nursing and the National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. With five campuses throughout Oakland County, OCC is Michigan's largest community college and the 23rd largest in the nation. OCC offers degrees and certificates in more than 160 fields, including university transfer degrees in business, science and the liberal arts. Approximately 78,000 undergraduates attend OCC each year. More at www.oaklandcc.edu.
Sooshin Choi Named Provost of CCS: The College for Creative Studies in Detroit has appointed Sooshin Choi provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of design. An internationally renowned educator and design professional, Choi joins CCS from the University of Cincinnati where he has been director of the School of Design since 2010 and professor of industrial design since 2003. As provost of CCS, Choi will be the chief academic officer of the college, responsible for providing vision and leadership for all matters related to academic operations, including oversight of faculty and curricula. The Provost plays a key role in the College's strategic planning, budgeting, enrollment management, technology planning and resource development. He also serves as a spokesperson for the college and advocate for the value of art and design to society. Choi's design experience spans multiple industries and nearly three decades. For 18 years, he worked as an automotive designer for Korean manufacturers GM: Daewoo Motors and Kia Motors where he designed passenger cars, vans, trucks, buses and minivans. Many of his later car designs, developed for Korean, European and US markets, can still be seen on the road: the sub-compact Kia Sephia; the first and second generations of the Kia Sedona; and the Kia Sportage, one of the world's first sport utility vehicles. At Fursys and Iloom, Choi led teams of designers and engineers to develop furniture for offices and public spaces. As the first director of industrial design at DEKA Research and Development, he oversaw the next generation of such innovative products as the iBOT mobility dystem, a powered wheelchair with integrated features not found in other motorized chairs. Choi's designs have received numerous accolades, including iF Hannover Product Design and Ecology Design Awards, Japanese G-Mark and the Grand Prize of Korean Industrial Design Award. He holds 47 design patents and three utility patents for his automotive and furniture designs. As a designer, administrator and teacher, Choi embraces innovation and inclusion, and publishes widely on these topics. He designed future creative professionals for a decade at the University of Cincinnati's highly regarded School of Design, teaching industrial design studios, theory of industrial design and a universal design seminar. He established Designnovation Studio, which allows students from diverse disciplines and various levels to work on innovative projects with industry partners. Choi also conducted design research in collaboration with major corporations, such as P&G, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors, Boeing, GE Appliances, Crown Equipment and Mead Westvaco. Choi holds a bachelor of science in industrial design from Seoul National University of Science and Technology and an mater of fine arts degree in industrial design from Hong-Ik University. He also holds a diploma in vehicle design from the Royal College of Art in London and studied at The Ohio State University. Choi serves the design community in various capacities; he is a member of the Korea Industrial Designers Association (KIDA), US director of Korea Society of Design Sciences (KSDS), and founder and moderator of Korean Designers in America. In 2011, Choi was elected Vice President for Education of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). In this role, he leads the education council in their efforts to develop and support the highest levels of undergraduate and graduate education. Choi oversees the content review, development and management of IDSA publications and events for the industrial design education community. He also promotes IDSA membership among industrial design educators and students. Serving IDSA as the Education Vice President allows Choi to see the entire horizon of design education in the US and its future opportunities. As an educator with experiences from Asia and Europe, his biggest goal as the Education VP has been to help US design education gain its competitive edge. As provost, Choi succeeds the late Imre Molnar, who died last December. His appointment begins Jan. 1. The search for provost was conducted by Paul Hsun-Ling Chou, co-managing director of the global education practice at Korn/Ferry International. He worked with input from a search committee chaired by Rogers and composed primarily of faculty from CCS's academic departments. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls more than 1,400 students pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degreesin advertising, copywriting, advertising design, crafts, entertainment arts, fine arts, graphic design, illustration, interior design, photography, product design and transportation design, as well as a dual major art education program. CCS also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Precollege and Continuing Studies programs and opportunities for youth through its Community Arts Partnerships programs.
