President John Anderson Announces Appointment of Provost
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) President John Anderson today announced the appointment of Alan W. Cramb, Ph.D. as provost. Cramb comes to IIT from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he has been dean of engineering and the John A. Clark and Edward T. Crossan Professor of Engineering since 2005. Prior to that position, Cramb was head of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he had been on the faculty for nearly 20 years.
“Alan Cramb brings a wealth of experience and accomplishment to what is perhaps the most demanding job at a university,” said IIT President John Anderson. “His ability to work with people, as well as to develop teamwork and vision within a university, will play a significant role in the advancement of IIT.”
As provost Cramb will direct all university activities associated with education, research and scholarship, and student experiences. He will also oversee areas that support the academic policies and activities of the university’s educational mission. He will collaborate with the president to develop and implement IIT’s strategic plan, to identify academic priorities, and to develop long-term financial plans to achieve a strong resource base for IIT’s programs and strategic initiatives.
“The pool of candidates for provost was exceptionally strong. Alan emerged as our choice for several reasons,” said Buck McMorris, dean of the IIT College of Science and Letters and chair of the Provost Search Committee. “One would be his successful leadership experience as a chair and dean of engineering at private research universities. Additionally, his engaging personality will be a plus for the campus community.”
During his time as dean at RPI, Cramb has overseen an increase in both undergraduate and graduate enrollments, a significant increase in research expenditures, the initiation of a mandatory international program for undergraduate engineering majors, and the introduction of the Lemelson-RPI prize for student innovation.
“The future of IIT is very bright, and it’s my pleasure to join President Anderson and his management team to help move the university forward,” said Cramb. “IIT is poised to be a leading institution not only in Chicago and the United States, but also internationally, in a number of important areas, including business, law, architecture, science, and engineering. It really is my pleasure to join IIT at this time when its future is looking so strong.”
Cramb is the author of more than 190 publications and two patents, and was the recipient of the AISI Medal in 1985 and 1986 and the Robert Woolston Hunt Award of the Iron and Steel Society in 1987. He was named an Iron and Steel Society Professor in 1992 and was awarded the Benjamin Richard Teare Award at CMU for excellence in engineering education in 1995. Cramb was the recipient of the Posco Chair for Iron and Steelmaking at CMU in 1997 and was the president of the Iron and Steel Society in 2000. Cramb was made a fellow of the Iron and Steel Society in 2000 and named the John Elliott lecturer of TMS/ISS in 2002. In 2003, he gave the Carnegie lecture for the Pittsburgh branch of ASM and was awarded the Benjamin Fairless Award of AIME. Cramb became president of American Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Society in 2005. He also was chairman of the University Materials Council and a board member of ABET in 2005. In 2007, he gave the Henry Marion Howe lecture of AIME/AIST.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 6,700 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment.
