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Dima Nazzal, director of professional practice and principal academic professional in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been elected as the new chair of the . 

Nazzal's election follows years of service and leadership within the ɫ���� community. A distinguished alumna, she earned her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from ɫ���� in 2006. After Nazzal's return to campus as faculty, she quickly became known for her instructional excellence and received the Curriculum Innovation Award in 2021. In addition to her commitment to student success, Nazzal is known as an advocate for faculty, as demonstrated by her work as part of the campus Covid-19 Taskforce. As chair of the Faculty Executive Board, Nazzal leads the faculty in governance of itself, the curriculum, and ɫ���� students. 

"Dima's election comes at a pivotal time for our academic community,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Steve McLaughlin. “The charge of faculty governance is to represent the faculty’s interests and to work hand-in-hand with our administration to make Tech a better place for everyone. Her wealth of experience and commitment to faculty and academic success positions her well to lead the Faculty Executive Board as they seek to address the most pressing issues.” 

ɫ����, as an institution of the University System of ɫ����, operates under the model of shared governance, as per Board of Regents policy. This model empowers the faculty with certain rights that enable them to fulfill responsibilities for their own governance, the governance of students, and the maintenance of high educational standards. This means that the faculty community has a governmental voice in processes and decisions that define the academic experience for all of ɫ����.  

“The academic experience looks different than it did even five years ago,” said Nazzal. “With the many new challenges our faculty are facing both in the classroom and in their research, it is more important than ever that our perspective be present in campus decision making. My hope is that during my tenure as chair of the Faculty Executive Board, ɫ����’s faculty will be represented clearly in decisions that impact everything from the classroom to campus life and beyond.” 

Former Chair of the Faculty Executive Board and current Executive Chief of Staff and Associate Provost, Karie Davis-Nozemack, remarked, "I am delighted to pass the torch to Dima. Her election is a testament to the strong and visionary leadership within the faculty. I have full confidence in her ability to guide the Board and contribute significantly to the academic governance of our institution." 

Writer: Brittany Aiello, Faculty Communications Program Manager, Organizational, Academic, and Research Communications