The University of Houston-Clear Lake has a new dean at the College of Science and Engineering. According to a statement on UH-Clear Lake’s blog, Miguel A. Gonzalez started work on July 1. Prior, Gonzalez spent 20 years at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg as an assistant professor and then director of UTPA’s manufacturing engineering program.
He eventually became dean of UTPA’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and associate vice president for research at UT Rio Grande Valley.
“I look forward to working with Dr. Gonzalez to enhance the teaching, scholarship and service activities in the College of Science and Engineering,” said Steven J. Berberich, UHCL vice president for academic affairs and provost, noting the new dean’s expertise in advanced manufacturing systems, logistics and innovation management.
In a previous role as director of the Rio Grande Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization, Gonzalez led initiatives focused on agriculture, manufacturing, health care, and high-tech industries. Through these activities, he fostered university partnerships.
“That’s what universities are supposed to be and do,” said Miguel A. Gonzalez. “We all have to do our jobs from that perspective.”
Born in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Gonzalez earned his bachelor’s and master’s in industrial engineering from the University of Houston (UH) but put his doctoral studies on hold to serve in the family business. He rose to the position of Citro Mexico’s president and chief corporate executive officer before he left to earn a PhD in industrial engineering from UH in 1995.
Gonzalez hopes to enhance university partnerships in innovation, manufacturing and high-tech industries, particularly aerospace, energy, robotics, and biotechnology.
“There’s obviously a lot of growth, and much expectation for programs in science and engineering,” Gonzalez said. “We need to be strategic in doing the right things for the right reasons, and in partnering with the right partners. There’s already a lot of great things going on at UH-Clear Lake. We need to build upon that.”
UHCL’s College of Science and Engineering offers 23 bachelor’s degrees and 35 master’s degrees in programs that include biology, biotechnology, computing sciences, engineering, environmental science, mathematics and statistics, and physical and applied sciences.
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