Dr. Tim Faley, associate vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization, will become interim vice provost and dean of the Kummer College, effective March 1. Dr. Susan Murray, acting vice provost and dean of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, will become interim vice provost for online education at Missouri S&T, also effective March 1.

“I speak on behalf of the entire S&T community in expressing my gratitude to Dr. Murray for launching the Kummer College, which is central to the vision behind the $300 million gift given to the university by June Kummer and her late husband, Fred, and for stepping up to lead initiatives that will serve our ever-expanding community of online learners,” says Dr. Mo Dehghani, S&T chancellor. “I am also grateful to Dr. Faley for assuming leadership of the college at this pivotal moment.”

Faley, as interim dean of the Kummer College, will report to Dr. Colin Potts, Missouri S&T provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“I am grateful for Tim’s willingness to step into this interim role,” Potts says. “His phenomenal experience in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation are exactly what we need as the Kummer College continues to evolve.”

Faley’s career spans engineering and business. Based on his work in industry and academia, he’s developed expertise in technology licensing, venture capital, product, business, and economic development.

“It’s an honor to join the Kummer College, a new type of school designed to rise to the challenges of a new era,” Faley says. “I look forward to collaborating with the remarkable team of faculty and staff as we connect and integrate our deep domain expertise across the university to address real-world organizational and societal challenges. Working in service of our students, we will deliver an academic experience infused with real-world perspective that will prepare them to grow into the leaders of the future.”

The Kummer College will adopt an innovative structure and role within the university. In addition to housing its three founding departments – business and information technology (BIT), economics, and engineering management and systems engineering (EMSE) – the college will serve the entrepreneurship and innovation needs of the entire S&T community. Technology Transfer and Economic Development (TTED) and Kummer Student Programs – the Kummer Institute team that oversees the Kummer Vanguard Scholars and the Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellows programs – will join the Kummer College along with Faley.

Faley joined S&T last November as the inaugural associate vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization, a position he will retain in addition to his new duties. Previously, he was distinguished professor and special assistant to the president at University of the Virgin Islands. Before that he was chief architect of the entrepreneurship program at the University of Michigan, which was named the top-ranked graduate program in entrepreneurship in the country in 2013 under his guidance.

Faley has written three books on innovation and entrepreneurship, two of which are published by Cambridge University Press. He has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in addition to an MBA.

In her new role, Murray will create and develop a new department and contribute to the restructuring of distance education at S&T. She will also report to Potts.

“I look forward to working closely with Susan as we continue to improve the ways we connect with and serve online learners,” Potts says. “The depth of her experience and institutional insight is an invaluable asset to S&T.”

A member of the S&T faculty since 1994, Murray served as interim chair, then chair, of psychological science from 2015 until her appointment as acting dean. She also served on the faculty of the engineering management and systems engineering department. Murray’s experience in online education includes growing the university’s industrial-organizational psychology program and online master’s degree program in engineering management – which ranks sixth in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.

An expert on human factors and risk management, Murray holds a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University and master’s and bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington and Texas A&M, respectively.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.