Three new deans will be holding the reins of MSU colleges when students return to campus this fall. The deans were approved by the MSU Board of Trustees on July 17.

Satish Udpa, College of Engineering

Though the words "cheerleader" and "catalyst" were not used on his résumé, Satish Udpa said his new job as the dean of the College of Engineering incorporates both of these things.

He said interacting with students every day keeps him young, and he enjoys sharing his love for engineering with others.

"Taking on a problem and coming up with a creative solution is probably the most exciting part of being an engineer," Udpa said. "If we can offer that excitement to the next generation of engineering students, that's my mission."

Udpa was the acting dean of the college for the past year and said getting some experience in the job helped him examine what the college needs from other resources, as well as what Michigan needs from the college.

"The state of Michigan has long relied on its engineering workforce to help the economy," Udpa said. "We need to find out what else we can do to help the state of the economy and what else we can do to help the citizens here."

Research in energy, health, materials, security and sustainable economics at other colleges paired with that of the engineering college could help solve issues that plague Michigan and the U.S., such as the production of alternative sources of energy, he said.

Cooperation with other colleges is the key to the engineering college's future success, he said.

"The name of the game is partnerships with other colleges and making use of synergies present," Udpa said.

Engineering faculty and students can examine how technology can be translated into a clinical setting by working with the College of Human Medicine, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine, he said.

Mary Mundt, College of Nursing

Mary Mundt said taking a position at a new university is kind of like learning a new language — an immersion experience.

"It takes a lot of energy to pay attention to what's going on in that culture, but that's a fun thing to do, as well," Mundt said.

As the new College of Nursing dean, she said she plans to use her resources to promote a positive learning environment.

"Higher education institutions are really pretty colorful places, and it's great when you can create an environment where learning and achievement happen," she said.

Mundt is eager to expand research funding, support more educational programs within the college and use the faculty's ideas to steer the college toward its goals. She said the challenge is the desire for MSU to push its research into the top 20 while expanding the nursing program.

"I have a background that really has provided me with exposure to different colleges of nursing," she said.

Mundt said she is most excited about working with the nursing faculty and contributing to MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon's Boldness by Design plan.

Something she said deans never have enough time to do is get to know students more.

Attending student meetings in and out of the college, eating lunch with student leaders and holding dean office hours are some of the ideas Mundt has to interact with students.

Mundt will not officially join MSU until September.

Christopher Brown, College of Veterinary Medicine

For Christopher Brown, returning to MSU as the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine means coming home.

As a former professor of large animal clinical sciences at MSU from 1979 to 1994, Brown said he has a lot of affection and respect for the college.

"I went through the majority of my professional growth at Michigan State," he said. "To have the opportunity to come back and serve the college (is) humbling, but it's also exciting."

With his return, Brown hopes to continue the growth of the college in accordance with the university's ambitions.

"We've got to make sure that we are aligned well with the goals the people have set within the process both at the university level and college level," he said.

Brown said he is focusing on about a dozen of the faculty's goals, as well as the five areas laid out by Simon's Boldness by Design plan for the entire university.

The national and international opportunities for veterinary medicine are growing, Brown said, which is promising for MSU.

"The people and resources are incredibly good and strong, so MSU veterinary medicine has a great potential to continue its international leadership," he said.

As a professor, Brown said he is used to working one-on-one with students in a clinical environment — something he will miss as an administrator.

To interact with students, Brown plans to attend student meetings and possibly have brown-bag lunches as well. He said this would let students know they have access to the dean's office and that their opinions have value.