UPDATED: May 20, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.

Achille Messac, the chair of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, is expected to leave Syracuse University to become Mississippi State University’s engineering dean at its James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.

Messac was selected out of an estimated 40 applicants for the school, and was chosen for his academic experience at SU, said MSU executive vice president Jerry Gilbert.

“We felt he was a really good match for advancing our college and inspiring our faculty to greater achievements,” he said.

If approved by MSU’s Board of Trustees, Messac will be the university’s first African American dean, according to MSU’s May 17 press release.

His new responsibilities as the engineering dean will involve overseeing the school’s department heads, interacting with alumni and representing the Bagley College, Gilbert said.

Gilbert said he hopes Messac will set a vision for MSU’s engineering program that will help gain an international recognition for the Bagley College.

“We’re not really perceived as high in the rankings as we should be, he’s going to help with that,” he said.  “He did a remarkable job at (SU’s) mechanical and aerospace engineering department for raising their ranking in the engineering community and helped him raise their national stature. That’s great preparation.”

Messac became head of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at SU in 2010, a role that made him the second active distinguished professor in the school, according to a July 16, 2010 SU press release.

During his time, Messac helped improve L.C. Smith’s mechanical engineering program’s national ranking in the U.S. News & World Report, according to MSU’s press release.

Messac became focused on improving undergraduate teaching, increasing the amount of research grants and hiring more faculty members as the school’s department head since he came to SU in 2010, said Ariel DuChene, the assistant dean of external relations at L.C. Smith.

“He’s very passionate about engineering and education, which positioned him very well,” she said. “All of those things will probably help him take on this new role.”

He also won the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award in 2010 for his “outstanding and visionary leadership in the aerospace community” from the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, according to its website. This award is considered the highest international technical honor in Messac’s field, according to MSU’s press release.

Said MSU’s vice president Gilbert: “We certainly respect SU and recognize its quality and its stature, and we were delighted we could attract someone of Messac’s caliber from SU.”

Published on May 19, 2013 at 12:24 pm

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng