Mesut Muslu, who has a Ph.D in electrical engineering, has been chosen to take on this position for EMS (Engineering, Mathematics and Science), which is the college at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville that holds over 3,000 students and 110 staff members.

An interim dean’s job is to perform the duties of the permanent dean in the absence of his or her position, which includes handling external and internal issues, such as supervising personnel, hiring new staff, fundraising and attending meetings.

Muslu will take this responsibility from Joanne Wilson, the transitional dean of EMS, beginning on May 27.

As seen in the Feb. 13 Exponent article “Crisis in EMS,” these positions have been necessary because William Hudson and Lisa Riedle, the previous dean and associate dean of the College of EMS, left their positions in February 2014.

Muslu has worked for UW-Platteville for over 28 years as an electrical engineering professor.

According to Muslu, the most difficult part of this transition is that he will miss teaching and being around students over the course of being the interim dean of EMS.

“My biggest strength [in this position] is that I know the departments and programs, [as well as] the administration,” Muslu said. “Another one [strength] is that I get along with people, so I think I have this calmness that will be needed.”

Muslu will return as a professor when the permanent dean position is fulfilled for the College of EMS.

They will begin a search for next fall and hope to have a candidate hired by the summer of 2015.

Aside from providing the College of EMS with a sufficient amount of staff members, including the associate dean position, Muslu hopes to continue improving the internal workings of the college.

“We need to find some resources, other than the state, that could help the college financially in the long run,“ Muslu said. “We also need to improve the service to students.”

“I’m looking forward to the job. It will be a challenging job, but we will move forward,” Muslu said.