Ogundipe is the first dean of the College of
Engineering since the engineering and computing colleges were housed
in the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing. In 2023, GVSU's
Board of Trustees approved creating a new College of Computing.
Drake also thanked search committee co-chairs Mark
Schaub, dean of the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and
Christina Keller, CEO and chair of Cascade Engineering, and extended
her appreciation to Tim Born, who served as interim dean of engineering.
"Tim has done an excellent job to ensure that the
college maintained its focus and momentum. He has demonstrated
outstanding leadership qualities and I look forward to his continued
contributions," she said.
Ogundipe earned a doctoral degree in environmental
engineering, master's degree in chemical engineering from Stevens
Institute of Technology in New Jersey, and a bachelor's degree in
chemical engineering from the University of Lagos in Nigeria.
While in Nigeria, Ogundipe said he started down a path
to earn a chemical engineering degree to work for an oil company.
Then he served a public service stint in the Niger Delta region and
fully understood how oil wells had devastated the country's environment.
That led to a graduate school appointment as an
environmental engineer for a U.S. Department of Defense
subcontractor, where Ogundipe worked, as he said, "a chemical
and environmental engineer and a materials scientist."
"That experience changed my attitude toward
engineering education," he said. "I learned we need to be
flexible and give students a robust learning experience. We need a
holistic approach to educating and training students."
As head of James Madison's engineering department,
Ogundipe increased enrollment by 40 percent over a four-year period,
expanded industry-sponsored capstone projects and applied research
for faculty, and implemented the first co-op program — after
learning of Grand Valley's robust co-op program from Paul
Plotkowski, retired dean of the
Padnos College of Engineering and Computing
.
"Paul's vision and longevity has left an imprint
on the program. The program's core tenets and the collaborative
faculty and staff have built a solid foundation of engineering
education. This creates a robust ecosystem for project-based
learning and industry-sponsored projects," Ogundipe said.
"We need to continue to align this work with what industry
needs of their future employees."
