By Shelby Brown–

Gail DePuy, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at Speed, will serve as acting dean starting July 1.

“I am delighted and honored to be given the opportunity to serve SSoE and U of L in this capacity,” DePuy said.

DePuy says Speed School is experiencing growth in areas like student enrollment, research funding, industrial partnerships and community engagement. DePuy says she is excited to work with administration and students.

“Dr. DePuy has an intimate knowledge of the school and is highly regarded for her teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,” Interim Provost Dale Billingsley said in an email.

DePuy is replacing John Usher, who began serving as acting dean in May 2015.

“I want to also take this opportunity to thank John Usher for his service as acting dean for the past two years,” Billingsley said. “His willingness to take on that role is much appreciated.”

Usher says he is happy with the university’s choice of DePuy.

“She has a tremendous amount of talent and experience here at Speed and will be an effective leader,” Usher said. “She is a hard-worker and has a real passion for making the Speed School a better place to work and learn.”

Usher will return in January from sabbatical as a tenured professor in industrial engineering.
“After 12 years in various administrative positions, I am also looking forward to returning to my former role as a teacher, mentor and researcher,” Usher said. “I love engaging with students and have plans during my sabbatical to revise some of my course materials, examine use of some new technologies and innovative teaching methods.”

DePuy’s fields of study include production and inventory control, experiment design and operations research. She has authored over 80 technical papers and served as principal or co-principal investigator on over $2.4 million of funded research.

DePuy says she plans to return to her position as Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs once Speed School hires a permanent Dean.


Photo courtesy of J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

Updated 5/16/17 8:18 a.m.