Dr. Jeffrey Cawlfield, professor and interim chair of geological sciences and engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, will become director of the university’s freshman engineering program, effective July 1.

Cawlfield will replace Dr. Nancy Hubing, who has served as the program’s director since 2005.

“The committee interviewed four excellent candidates,” says Dr. Mariesa Crow, dean of the UMR School of Materials, Energy and Earth Resources. “Dr. Cawlfield was selected because of his considerable experience with both freshman students and campus administration. I look forward to Dr. Cawlfield continuing the UMR tradition of providing a high quality experience to freshman engineering students.”

The freshman engineering program provides academic advising and career information to all UMR freshmen planning to major in an engineering field.

“Freshmen engineering is one of the largest programs at UMR with more than 1,000 students being advised and mentored at any given time,” Cawlfield says. “It is a critically important part of the student experience and it is crucial to provide initial advising and counsel so these bright young woman and men can make the transition from their high school or previous college and be successful at UMR and, ultimately, be productive adults and solid citizens for our country and the world.”

Cawlfield earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Washington State University in 1981. He earned master of science and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Cawlfield also attended the United States Coast Guard Academy from 1976-1979, majoring in ocean engineering.

Cawlfield joined the UMR faculty as an assistant professor in 1987. He was promoted to associate professor in 1993 and to professor in 1999. In 2000, Cawlfield was named head of the geological engineering program at UMR. In 2001, he was named associate dean of the School of Materials, Energy and Earth Resources and in 2003 he was named chair of geological and petroleum engineering. He has served as chair of geological sciences and engineering since 2005.

Cawlfield has received both the UMR Faculty Excellence Award and the UMR Outstanding Teaching Award six times. He has received the School of Mines and Metallurgy Sustained Teaching Excellence Award three times. In 1992, Cawlfield received the Dow Outstanding Young Educator Award from the Midwest region of the American Society of Engineering Education. In 1994, he received the Student Advising Award from the MSM-UMR Alumni Association. In 1996, then-Governor Mel Carnahan appointed Cawlfield to the Missouri State Dam and Reservoir Safety Council. He is currently serving his second term.

Cawlfield is a member of American Society for Engineering Education, Association of Engineering Geologists, Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Geophysical Union, Society of Mining Engineers, Geological Society of America, and Sigma Xi.