EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Greg Budzban, PhD, today announced that he is stepping down effective June 30, 2020. He has served as dean since Aug. 1, 2015.
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“The University community has been so appreciative of Greg’s leadership and collegiality,” said Denise Cobb, PhD, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Greg’s ability to articulate the value of the arts and sciences, the benefits of integrative thinking, and the power of interdisciplinarity and innovation have been invaluable.”
“We are truly grateful for his commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives. His thoughtful approach and collaborative spirit have been an asset to academic affairs and SIUE.”
“It is an honor and privilege to be dean of CAS,” Budzban said. “I will continue to work tirelessly for the college over the next 10 months. While I will step down as dean, I intend to remain connected to the University and look forward to continuing to work together as a faculty member of the college.”
Among Budzban’s accomplishments are the following:
He developed the Targeted Funding Initiative (TFI) to support innovative and engaging teaching, research and service activities. The TFI distributed more than $750,000 to faculty and staff for such work, and for new high impact community engagement activities.
He developed the Innovation Grant Proposal that provided the blueprint and received start-up funding for the new Center for Predictive Analytics.
He supported and engaged in fundraising to greatly expand the scholarship offerings for CAS students. This past year, more than 300 scholarships were awarded, the largest number in its history.
He helped secure external funding to create innovative classrooms and labs across the college, including the Foster Adaptive Learning Classroom, and the Mass Communications Media Integration Lab. Additionally, the IRIS Center experienced expansion, while the GIS Lab and Foreign Language Training Center received upgrades.
He implemented an ICR sharing program in the college to facilitate and support faculty scholarship, and encourage grant activity.
He has worked to maintain an active research program being primary investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $5 million of external grant funding.
He helped create the Alton Math Games league with external funding. The project allowed elementary students to learn mathematics through engagement with problem-based learning and with fun.
Budzban brought more than 25 years of academic experience, along with six years of professional experience from Martin Marietta Aerospace, to SIUE. He served as chair of the Department of Mathematics and acting director of the STEM Education Research Center at SIUC before arriving on the SIUE campus.
Budzban received a bachelor’s in mathematics, a master’s in theoretical computer sciences and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of South Florida.
Central to SIUE’s exceptional and comprehensive education, the College of Arts and Sciences offers degree programs in the natural sciences, humanities, arts, social sciences and communications. The College touches the lives of all SIUE students helping them explore diverse ideas and experiences, while learning to think and live as fulfilled, productive members of the global community. Study abroad, service-learning, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities better prepare SIUE students not only to succeed in our region's workplaces, but also to become valuable leaders who make important contributions to our communities.
