Announcing Steven Weber as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Curriculum and Education
This message was sent to all faculty and staff by the Provost on November 29, 2022.
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Steven Weber, PhD, has been appointed Vice Provost for Undergraduate Curriculum and Education, effective January 1, 2023. An internationally known expert in mathematical modeling of computer and communication networks, Dr. Weber is professor and department head of electrical and computer engineering with 19 years of service to Drexel University.
As vice provost, Dr. Weber will collaborate with academic leaders and stakeholders across the University to develop a cohesive strategy for academic programs that positions Drexel on the cutting edge of undergraduate education. This appointment represents a reenvisioning of this vice provost role, with an increased focus on supporting curricular enhancement and innovation and developing infrastructure to support interdisciplinary collaboration. The Vice Provost for Undergraduate Curriculum and Education will support the Provost’s and University’s academic priorities while setting the vision for a distinctive learning experience for Drexel undergraduates.
Over the past decade, Dr. Weber has held progressive leadership roles within his department, beginning as assistant department head in 2011 and serving as department head since 2017. The founding director of Drexel’s Isaac L. Auerbach Cybersecurity Institute, he contributed to the launch of four M.S. degrees in the department and led the development of an interdisciplinary graduate minor. As department head, Dr. Weber has sought to bring issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to the fore, leading discussions as well as a faculty-supported department statement on diversity.
In recent years, Dr. Weber has emerged as an institutional leader in promoting teaching and curricular excellence, serving as co-chair and a subcommittee chair of the Strategic Plan’s Program and Curricular Innovation implementation team — consisting of nearly 50 faculty and professional staff — as well as lead author of the subcommittee’s July 2022 recommendations report. In 2021, he participated in the Teaching and Learning Center’s inaugural Institute for Inclusive and Equitable Teaching and the TLC’s flagship program, the Drexel Teaching Academy, while also serving as a Faculty Fellow for the Center for the Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning Excellence (CASTLE).
With wide-ranging research interests including wireless communications, cybersecurity, privacy and risk analysis, Dr. Weber has been Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on 47 grants exceeding $18M in external funding, including five federal grants focused on education and pedagogy. The funding agencies have included the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, the Department of Education and the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Weber has served as an educational consultant for Rowan University, Stevens Institute of Technology and Rider University and was honored as this year’s Pennoni Honors College Outstanding Faculty Member.
As Dr. Weber steps down as department head in January to assume the vice provost role, Nagarajan Kandasamy, PhD, has been appointed interim department head of electrical and computer engineering. I would like to sincerely thank Senior Vice Provost Ros Remer and Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Committee Chair Rena Cumby for co-chairing this search as well as the search committee for their time and dedication to the search. Please join me in welcoming and supporting Steve in his new role!
Sincerely,
Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost