Dec. 14, 2022
Neeraj Buch named dean at Rochester Institute of Technology
After 25 plus years of service, Neeraj Buch is leaving Michigan State University for a position at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He will become RIT’s dean of undergraduate education and associate provost for student success, starting Jan. 16, 2023.
Buch is chairperson of MSU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at MSU, and during a 25 plus-year Spartan career also served as a professor of pavement engineering, director of the first-year engineering program, and associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering.
“Neeraj has been an important part of our transformative growth through the years,” said Engineering Dean Leo Kempel. “I send special thanks to him for his dedicated support in the College of Engineering and across MSU. We are grateful for his many contributions and wish him luck with his new endeavor.”
There will be a reception to honor Neeraj Buch on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 2-4 p.m. in the Dean’s conference room (Room 3405). Drop in for cake, cookie cups, bagels, and beverages.
Buch joined MSU as an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and rose through the professorial ranks based on a robust research program, award-winning teaching, and solid service. He was the inaugural director of the Cornerstone & Residential Experience (CoRe) – MSU’s well-respected program that provides academic and co-curricular activities for first-year engineering students.
Buch became chairperson of CEE in 2011 and associate dean for UGS in 2015. His accomplishments as associate dean and department chair include using data-informed interventions to improve graduation rates, enhancing support for first-generation students, establishing a first-year engineering program that integrates academics with professional and personal development, and leading academic student services for a college with 6,000 undergraduates.
While at Michigan State, Buch served on many university-level committees related to student success including the Student Success Committee, the Enrollment Management Group, the University Honors College Committee, and the Teaching Effectiveness for Faculty Committee.
He has also served as a mentor and adviser to individual students and student organizations including the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter, the American Society of Civil Engineers concrete canoe team, and the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society.
Buch’s research interests are in the areas of concrete pavement design, rehabilitation, non-destructive testing of pavements, and composite materials. His work is published in more than 100 peer-reviewed archival journals and conference proceedings. He is an honor member of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society; fellow of the American Concrete Institute; and honorary member and past president of the International Society of Concrete Pavements.
Among his awards and distinctions of excellence, he is a four-time recipient of the college’s Withrow Teaching Excellence Award.
Peter Savolainen will become CEE’s interim chair on Jan. 1. Read more on this MSU Foundation Professor and the associate chair for graduate studies here.
