Architecture Dean Transitioning To New Role, Acting Dean Appointed
Texas A&M University has appointed Associate Professor, Department Head and McMullan Chair Patrick C. Suermann as acting dean of the College of Architecture. Suermann will fill the role as Jorge A. Vanegas, the college’s dean since 2009, transitions into a new role Jan. 2 as associate vice president and director of the Institute for Sustainable Communities.
“As dean, Dr. Vanegas oversaw vast budgetary and enrollment growth, the addition of the Department of Visualization, the college’s 50th anniversary, multiple recessions and a global pandemic,” said Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Timothy P. Scott ’89 in a message to campus today.
In his new role, Vanegas will collaborate with academics whose research findings are helping lead the way to sustainable communities and create high-impact learning experiences for students, Scott said.
As for Suermann, Scott said he has been instrumental in gaining research grants from NASA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, among others, and has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers along with six Meritorious Service Medals and numerous other accolades.
Suermann graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1997 with his bachelor’s in civil engineering, earned his master’s in construction science from Texas A&M in 2003 and his Ph.D. in design, construction and planning from the University of Florida in 2009.
Jorge A. Vanegas
Professor; Director of the Institute for Sustainable Communities
979.845.1222 Email Jorge A. Vanegas