Keith Molenaar has seen CEAS adapt for decades and now he plays a crucial role in its evolution
Nikki Edwards | Photos Courtesy of Dean's Office
Keith Molenaar鈥檚 resume is long and impressive, with job titles like 鈥淓xpert Risk Analyst鈥� for the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and contributions to projects like the expansion of the Panama Canal. This semester Molenaar is taking up one of the most distinguished jobs in the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS): the dean鈥檚 position. 听听
The engineering school is putting their trust in Molenaar to uphold the college鈥檚 renowned reputation as interim dean while a committee conducts a national search for someone to fill the position long-term.听
鈥淭he dean鈥檚 position is a difficult one. You鈥檙e leading a group of faculty, staff and students; that鈥檚 more than 8,000 people. You have to have someone who truly cares internally and externally," Molenaar said.
Molenaar has a long history with 欧美口爆视频. 听After receiving his bachelor鈥檚 degree in architectural engineering from 欧美口爆视频, which he started in 1987, he worked at a startup construction management company in Boulder before returning to the university to obtain his doctoral and master鈥檚 degrees in civil engineering.
Molenaar鈥檚 first assistant professorship was at the Georgia Institute of Technology. But in 1999, he returned to Boulder to join the College of Engineering as an assistant professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. He worked as the Associate Dean for Research before taking the position of interim dean of the College on Jan. 13, 2020.
Because of Molenaar鈥檚 history with 欧美口爆视频 and because of his close work with former Dean Bobby Braun in developing the听college's "Strategic Vision", Molenaar was a natural choice.听
Provost Russell Moore selected Molenaar to fill the position, 听and according to 欧美口爆视频 Boulder Today, Moore said 鈥淜eith鈥檚 leadership of CEAS鈥檚 research mission, his excellence as a scholar and teacher and 听his association with the college ensure the continued course of distinction that Bobby Braun has set for the college.鈥澨�
"Even though I鈥檝e only been here about six weeks, back in November and December, I began meeting with leadership from the departments, academic programs and research centers to make sure I could hear their concerns and goals,鈥� Molenaar said. "I鈥檝e been with the college for more than 20 years now and having this experience has really helped with the transition."
Tanya Ennis, director of the BOLD Center, has worked with Molenaar for the past decade. In those years she has witnessed his dedication to and investment in the college. 鈥淜eith has been here since I got here in 2009. He has a breadth of knowledge about the college and is continuously learning more about it鈥�, Ennis said. 鈥淗e has shown me that he has a willingness to learn. He鈥檚 willing to learn from students, faculty and staff to problem solve together, to be comfortable when it鈥檚 not comfortable.鈥�
Molenaar鈥檚 excellence in research, his willingness to learn, and his collaborative approach are some of the reasons why he has been so successful at 欧美口爆视频, as well as in the projects he is working on outside of 欧美口爆视频. Molenaar was involved in work on the San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Panama Canal. He is currently working on听the International Thermo Nuclear Energy Reactor (ITER) in France.听
In an interview with the On 欧美口爆视频E Podcast he said, 鈥淚t [ITER] truly could change the world and bring us clean energy. If it works, and it very well could, it could generate clean energy by 2050 and [we could] have these all around the world.鈥�
Molenaar is focused on advancing not only the school, but the world through the next generation of engineers. 鈥淲e [the college] get to explore and invent our future, but we have to stay at the front edge because people look at us as leaders. We don鈥檛 want to be the taxi to higher education鈥檚 Uber, right? We want to be the creative ones. We鈥檒l continue to innovate and I鈥檓 looking forward to it,鈥� Molenaar said.听