The interim director of the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), Bill Sanders, announced today that he will leave the University of Illinois System to accept the appointment as dean of the college of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, effective Jan. 1, and U of I System President Tim Killeen said he expects a seamless transition to a new DPI leader over the next three months.
Killeen congratulated Sanders on being named dean at one of the top 10 engineering colleges in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, and said he has already begun the process of identifying a successor to lead the DPI innovation, research and academic enterprise.
“Bill has done a masterful job in the last 13 months, leading development of the mission, the leadership team and the infrastructure that have positioned DPI for success,” Killeen said. “Roberta and I wish the best for Bill and his family as they turn the page to an exciting new chapter in their lives.”
Killeen said Sanders laid the groundwork that the next director can use to continue the rapid growth of the pioneering new research and education institute. He said Sanders’ many accomplishments since taking over as DPI’s inaugural interim director in August 2018 include:
- Leading development of the operations and business plan for DPI, along with a study that will gauge projected economic impact
- Partnering with 10 top Illinois and international universities, Argonne National Laboratory and several corporations
- Helping advocate successfully for $500 million in state capital funds for development of DPI and IIN, as well as helping to raise matching funds
- Stewarding the process for designation of DPI as a temporary institute by the state Board of Higher Education
- Building an experienced and accomplished leadership team
- Engaging more than 1,000 faculty, staff and students with DPI through workshops and seed grant programs
- Partnering with Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation Edward Seidel to connect DPI with the statewide Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) and its 15 hubs, including all of the state’s public universities. Seidel’s office is responsible for all research and economic development initiatives for the U of I System, including DPI and IIN
“DPI has come far in the last year, building the foundation that has put it in position to announce its inaugural programming, to engage faculty as formal members of the institute and to deepen our partner relationships, especially those in industry,” Sanders said.
Killeen said he already has begun identifying potential successors and that the three months remaining until Sanders takes his new position will ensure a transition overlap with a new interim director to sustain DPI’s growing momentum.
“This change in leadership comes at a time when we are working to expand our connections with industry and with stakeholders in the growing innovation ecosystem across the state, the Midwest and the nation,” Killeen said. “That special skill set will be among the many talents we seek in a new director.”
Announced in October 2017 and led by the U of I System and its three universities in Urbana, Chicago and Springfield, DPI is a collaborative research and education center that is pioneering a new model to activate universities’ assets to address grand challenges, retain and attract talent, and drive economic vitality in Illinois.
“DPI is well on its way to achieving its ambitious mission, thanks to Bill’s leadership,” said Seidel, who was part of the team that developed DPI and IIN. “I am grateful to him for sharing his talents, and wish him the best as he transitions into this wonderful new opportunity.”
Sanders, an award-winning educator and researcher, also has served for 25 years on the faculty of the system’s university in Urbana-Champaign, including 15 years in academic leadership positions. Before being named to lead DPI, he served for five years as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ranked fifth in the nation by U.S. News.
He said he is deeply honored to be asked to lead Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering, calling it one of the most impactful, deeply interdisciplinary and exceptionally innovative engineering colleges in the world.
“It has truly been a privilege to lead DPI and help build this pioneering new education and research enterprise from the ground up,” Sanders said. “With an outstanding leadership team, strong faculty theme leads, widespread faculty support and an ambitious operations/business plan in place, the institute is now poised to achieve its mission of driving economic growth, delivering and retaining talent in Chicago and the state, and building a more diverse pipeline of STEM talent for years to come.”
The Herman M. Dieckamp Endowed Chair in Engineering, Sanders also directed two campus-wide research centers in addition to DPI – serving as founding director of the Information Trust Institute and director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory. He also cofounded the university’s first international research facility, the Advanced Digital Sciences Center in Singapore.
Sanders, 58, is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He holds a PhD in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his masters and undergraduate degrees.
