May 2 is Bob Mitchell Day at the University of Missouri-Rolla. UMR will host a retirement reception on that day for Dr. Robert Mitchell, dean of the School of Engineering. Mitchell will leave UMR in August to direct the School of Engineering at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City.

An ice cream social primarily for students will be held from 12:30-2 p.m. in a tent outside the Havener Center. At 1 p.m., students from engineering departments and design teams will speak.

A program and reception for UMR faculty and staff and the community will be held from 2-4 p.m. in the Carver-Turner Room of the Havener Center. A reception will follow the program.

The School of Engineering dean’s office is collecting testimonial letters to present to Mitchell upon his retirement. Anyone is welcome to submit one. Testimonial letters should be sent to Jerry Bayless, associate dean of the School of Engineering, at (573) 341-4151 or emailed to jerryb@mst.edu.

Mitchell joined UMR in 1994, filling the position held by former Dean Robert L. Davis. Previously, Mitchell served as chair of electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington.