Will Cantrell is having encounters garnered through almost two decades at Michigan
Technological University into his new job as associate provost and dean of the Graduate
School—a work he calls “a privilege.”
Past thirty day period, Jacqueline Huntoon, provost and senior vice president for educational affairs,
declared that Cantrell, then the associate dean of the Graduate University and exiting
director of the Earth, Planetary and Place Sciences Institute (EPSSI), would presume his new job as dean on July one.
“It is a privilege to be entrusted with this situation,” explained Cantrell. “I am grateful for the guidance and mentorship that I have obtained from my close friends
and colleagues in excess of the past 19 a long time at Michigan Tech. I would not have been in the
situation to triumph in this work without the need of that guidance.”
He succeeds Pusphalatha Murthy, who is doing work with Cantrell to assure a easy changeover.
While no lengthier Graduate University dean, Murthy will continue to serve on the Graduate
Education and learning Advisory Board of the American Chemical Culture and stay lively with the
Council of Graduate Faculties and the National Science Foundation.
A heritage of leadership
As Cantrell commences his 20th calendar year at Michigan Tech, items seem a whole lot unique than
they did in 2001. You could even say that the state of affairs is considerably unique
than in 2019. But, as the University plans for a tumble semester beginning through the
COVID-19 pandemic, Cantrell’s friends are confident in his skills as a chief and
an educator.
“Dr. Cantrell has a prolonged heritage of supplying thoughtful leadership that, merged
with his very well-earned reputation as an efficient researcher and instructor, make him very well
geared up to presume this vital job,” Huntoon explained in her June announcement.
A highly effective mixture
Cantrell explained the Graduate University plays an vital job at the University, noting that graduate education and learning at Michigan
Tech is a unique mixture of the inquiries “Why?” and “How?” with theory and follow. “That’s a highly effective mixture, and our learners are valued
by market and by other educational establishments for the reason that of it,” he explained.
Cantrell has observed his share of worries through his tenure at Michigan Tech, but
potentially none as remarkable as the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained the pandemic is a significant
trial from numerous views.
“Of study course, there are the economic pressures,” he explained. “Our learners and their families are experiencing them, the state is experiencing them and as a
consequence, so is Michigan Tech.”
Cantrell’s other example is a thing that will be happening all through MTU’s campus
this tumble.
“The social distancing that is essential to maintain the protection of our learners, personnel
and college also tends to make instruction in the classroom and the lab additional tough. However
we ought to continue to live into our shared values of neighborhood, respect, diversity and
inclusion,” he explained.
Cantrell joined Tech’s Physics Section in 2001 right after earning his PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and finishing
a postdoc in chemistry at Indiana University. His exploration interests incorporate atmospheric
science, cloud and aerosol physics and chemistry. He is a member of the Michigan Tech
team that created and constructed the Pi Cloud Chamber, which simulates cloud situations and enables for experimentation such as turbulence
and varying aerosol sizes and compositions.
In 2013, Cantrell was named Distinguished Professor of the 12 months by the Presidents
Council, Condition Universities of Michigan.
Michigan Technological University is a general public exploration college, household to additional than
7,000 learners from fifty four nations around the world. Established in 1885, the University gives additional than
a hundred and twenty undergraduate and graduate degree applications in science and engineering, engineering,
forestry, business and economics, wellness professions, humanities, arithmetic, and
social sciences. Our campus in Michigan’s Higher Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway
and is just a handful of miles from Lake Remarkable.