Dean Maria Klawe has agreed to be the next president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and will resign her position as dean of engineering as of June 30.

In a statement posted on the University’s home page Jan. 17, President Shirley M. Tilghman said, “We are very grateful to Maria for her leadership of the School of Engineering, and especially for creating and coordinating a strategic planning process that produced an exciting vision for the future of engineering at Princeton.

“The plan identifies as its highest priority the training of engineers who will become leaders, and builds on the core strengths of the engineering school while fostering a greater interplay with Princeton’s traditional strengths in the sciences, humanities and social sciences,” Tilghman continued. “As we continue to carry out the plan she helped us develop for Princeton, we wish her every success in her new responsibilities at Harvey Mudd.”

A search for Klawe’s successor as dean will commence shortly.

In a letter to faculty and staff and students, Dean Klawe said, “This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career, and one that I bring to you with mixed emotions. I am thrilled to be taking the leadership of a college that has been a pioneer and innovator in the teaching of science and engineering over the last 50 years. I also am very sad to leave Princeton where I have had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented, energetic and supportive group of people.

“I am very proud of the work we have done together,” Klawe continued. “Together, we created a vision for Princeton Engineering that is moving the school in an exciting and vital direction. I will continue to work hard for Princeton over the next five-and-a-half months and prepare for a transition in leadership that will build on our momentum.”

Under Klawe’s leadership, the School of Engineering and Applied Science created a strategic vision, “Engineering for a Better World: The Princeton Vision,” which grew out of a year-long series of planning sessions that involved more than 800 people. The University and engineering school continue to move rapidly to implement the vision. An overview on recent progress is available in the Fall/Winter 05 issue of EQuad News.

The Princeton Engineering vision sets a standard for teaching and research that reaches beyond technical achievement and incorporates a broad understanding of the social, economic and cultural context that drives and is driven by technology. Our goals are to educate leaders who are broadly equipped to harness the power of technology to solve human problems; and to connect diverse disciplines and viewpoints to produce high-impact research and innovation.

Princeton Engineering is the nexus where science and society meet to solve pressing problems and create opportunities for a better world.