Alan W. Cramb To Become Next President of Illinois Institute of Technology
The Board of Trustees of Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has unanimously elected Alan W. Cramb to be the ninth president of the university. Cramb, who has been provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at IIT since 2008, will succeed John L. Anderson on August 1, 2015.
"Alan has been instrumental in moving the university to a new level of academic excellence over the past six years," said Bud Wendorf, chairman of the board. "His leadership has helped IIT increase its undergraduate enrollment to record levels, strengthen its financial position, and attract eminent scholars to our colleges. He also understands the challenges facing higher education. The Board of Trustees believes that he will be an outstanding president and looks forward to working with him in the years ahead."
Cramb, who is also the Charles and Lee Finkl Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Illinois Tech, received his B.Sc. with Honors in Metallurgy from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and his Ph.D. in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He conducted and managed research in the steel industry before joining the engineering faculty at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he co-directed the Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research. In 1997 he was awarded the POSCO Chair in Iron and Steelmaking and in 2000, he became the chair of CMU’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In 2005, he was appointed the dean of engineering and the John A. Clark and Edward T. Crossan Professor of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He is the author of more than 200 publications, holds two patents, and is the recipient of many academic and industry honors, including the Benjamin F. Fairless Award of The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). He is a Distinguished Member or Fellow of AIME, the Association for Iron & Steel Technology, ASM International, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan. In 2014, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Alan and his wife Anna have two daughters, Natalie and Liana.
About Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused, research university, located in Chicago, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. One of 22 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech offers exceptional preparation for professions that require technological sophistication, adaptive creativity, an innovative mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit www.iit.edu.
