Soulaymane Kachani was appointed Senior Vice Provost on January 1, 2022. Below are the announcements from Provost Mary Boyce and Interim Dean of Columbia Engineering Shih-Fu Chang that were shared with the community this week.
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February 21, 2022
Announcement from Mary C. Boyce, Provost of Columbia University
Soulaymane Kachani Appointed Senior Vice Provost
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Soulaymane Kachani to the position of Senior Vice Provost.
Since joining Columbia in 2003, Professor Kachani has distinguished himself as an outstanding educator, innovator, and administrator. Professor Kachani joined the Office of the Provost in January 2014 and has been serving as Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation. Under the guidance of Provost John Coatsworth, he led the establishment of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in 2015. The CTL played a key role in the University’s transition to online and HyFlex teaching during the pandemic, and is now an essential resource for faculty and graduate instructors across Columbia. The Provost’s Teaching and Learning Grants program has enabled faculty from all schools to fold new educational methods and technologies into their classrooms and learning environments, and the Science of Learning Research (SOLER) Initiative has developed a vibrant hub for cross-disciplinary research that advances the scholarship of teaching and learning.
As Senior Vice Provost, Professor Kachani will increase the scope of this portfolio and spearhead a new initiative that will enable the University to accelerate the expansion of its innovation in online and hybrid offerings. He will also focus on the role of the Office of the Provost in propelling our excellence as a global university, working to enhance existing international academic partnerships and develop new ones, and to make our campuses ever more welcoming to students and scholars from around the world. He will take on an expanded administrative role as well, including assisting with budget and administrative planning across the units of the Office of the Provost, and coordinating efforts to enable excellence in all we do for student employees at the University.
Within the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Professor Kachani has been serving as Senior Vice Dean and a faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. For the past 11 years, at the school level, he has coordinated and helped further advance the many academic programs across Columbia Engineering. During this time, the school has established dual degree collaborations with leading international universities, and developed flagship Master of Science degree programs in partnership with Columbia Business School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He has also led Columbia Video Network, the online learning division of Columbia Engineering, propelling online engineering programs at Columbia to be ranked first in the nation for the past five years. As he expands his duties in the Office of the Provost, Professor Kachani will retain his faculty appointment and reduce his responsibilities within Columbia Engineering.
Please join me in congratulating Professor Kachani on his new role and his growing contributions to Columbia.
Sincerely,
Mary C. Boyce
Provost
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
February 21, 2022
Announcement from Shih-Fu Chang, Interim Dean, Columbia Engineering
Dear Members of the Columbia Engineering Community,
I am writing to extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Soulaymane Kachani on his appointment as Senior Vice Provost of Columbia University. I am including below Provost Boyce’s announcement to the community.
Professor Kachani is a truly outstanding academic and administrator with unwavering dedication to the University and immense care for students, faculty and staff. Over the past 19 years, he has made long lasting contributions to both Columbia Engineering and Columbia University. Within Columbia Engineering, he strengthened and expanded our academic programs, made significant enhancements to student affairs and student life, built strong partnerships with renowned international universities, and brought our top-ranked online offerings to over three million learners around the world. At the University level, he established the Center for Teaching Learning, advanced a culture of educational innovation, helped navigate the changing landscape of online education and the transition to online and HyFlex education during the pandemic, and was instrumental to the University reaching a first contract with Student Workers at Columbia that set a new standard in higher education.
With his expanded role at the University level, Professor Kachani will reduce his responsibilities within Columbia Engineering. He will retain his faculty appointment in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and will continue to oversee our School’s academic partnerships, international students recruiting and graduate admissions, and online and executive education efforts.
Please join me in congratulating Professor Kachani for this well-deserved recognition and wish him the best in his new position.
All the best,
Shih-Fu Chang
Interim Dean
Richard Dicker Professor