If there is one thing that characterizes Olin's administrative leaders, it is innovation. They have extensive experience, to be sure; but they have done far more than just "put in their time." They have become leaders in their fields through their creativity and openness to doing things differently. It's no accident they've come to Olin College, a place dedicated to innovation in engineering education.
Below are our leaders of innovation:
Dr. Miller was appointed the first President of the Franklin W. Olin
College of Engineering on February 1, 1999. He also holds an appointment
as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Before joining Olin College,
he served as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of
Iowa from 1992-99. He spent the previous 17 years on the engineering
faculties at the University of Southern California (where he held the
position of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs) and the University of
California, Santa Barbara. With research interests in earthquake
engineering and aerospace structural design, he has served as a
consultant to many aerospace companies and directed research programs
funded by NSF, NASA, and industry. Dr. Miller has published extensively
in the field of applied mechanics, and has won five awards for teaching
excellence. He earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the
University of California, Davis in 1971, and is the recipient of the
2002 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award from that institution. He
received an S.M. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1972, and a Ph.D.
in Applied Mechanics from Caltech in 1976. He is a member of the Board
of Trustees of Babson College, the Board of Directors of The Stanley
Group, and serves on several advisory boards for non-profit
organizations and universities. He is also a member of AIAA, ASCE, ASEE,
and ASME.
Back to top
Dr. Roger ("Rod") C. Crafts, Jr. joined Olin College from Brandeis University, where he was Dean of Student Affairs from 1984 to 2000. He has also held student affairs positions at the University of Rhode Island and Indiana University. Dr. Crafts is known nationally for his creative innovations in the delivery of student services and his dedicated and cohesive staff. At Brandeis, Dr. Crafts was instrumental in enhancing the sense of community for undergraduate and graduate students and increasing the undergraduate retention rate by more than ten percent. He also substantially improved coordination among the seven departments within the Division of Student Affairs. Under his leadership, Brandeis revamped its student disciplinary system, joined the prestigious University Athletic Association, and established an Intercultural Center. At Olin, he is responsible for helping to establish and preserve a rich and diverse campus life that enhances student academic experiences. Among the areas reporting to him are academic advising, residence life, new student orientation, intramurals and recreation, student activities, the honor code and board, health services, psychotherapy and psychiatric services, community service, spiritual life, performing arts, registrar and student accounts. Dean Crafts holds a B.A. in biology from Earlham College and M.S.Ed. and Ed.D. degrees from Indiana University.
Back to top
Mr. Stephen P. Hannabury, the former Assistant Dean and Chief Financial, Administrative, and Information Officer at the School of Management at Boston University, became Vice President for Administration and Finance on August 11, 1999. Since then he has been responsible the design and construction of the Olin campus, the development of all administrative and financial processes and systems, and the establishment of all operational support functions. In his role as the College's chief financial officer, he is responsible for overseeing the management of the College's endowment, the management of the College's debt portfolio, and for all other financial and financial-planning activities. Among the other areas reporting to him are Campus Services, Human Resources, Dining Services, Public Safety, Risk Management and other operational areas of the College. Prior to joining Olin, Steve spent fifteen years at Boston University in a variety of positions, most recently as the Assistant Dean of the School of Management. Other experience includes working as a civil engineer and as the director of a non-profit public sailing organization. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and an M.B.A. from Boston University. He serves as the Treasurer of the Association of Independent Technological Universities, on the Board of the Boston Consortium of Higher Education, and on the Global Venture Capital Advisory Board for Commonfund Capital, Inc.
Back to top
As Associate Vice President for Development, Ms. Kossuth has primary responsibility for integrating and coordinating Olin's efforts in fund raising. In addition to her development duties, she is responsible for fostering non-academic relationships with neighboring institutions, including Babson, Wellesley and Brandeis. She also holds the title of Chief Information Officer at the college. In this role, she has had a unique opportunity to design fully converged leading-edge technology facilities at Olin College from scratch, as well as to implement best IT practices from a 'clean slate.' Her IT leadership led to her being named one of Computerworld's Premiere 100 CIOs in 2005. Her previous experience includes Systems Manager at Fisher College, Director of Information Technology at Wheelock College and Director of Computer Support Services at the Boston University School of Management. Ms. Kossuth's professional background includes a B.A. from Holy Cross College and a M.S. from Lesley University with a concentration in developing and implementing information systems for small businesses. She also received technical certifications in areas such as network and security engineering from Novell, SANS, and Microsoft. She has been involved for a number of years in EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. Most recently she was selected as Chair of the 2020 committee focused on insuring the future relevance of EDUCAUSE to its members. Her publications include: "Attracting Women to Technical Professions," and "Building Relationships Means Better IT Contracts," both published in EDUCAUSE Quarterly. In addition, Ms. Kossuth is Chair of the Board of NERCOMP (Northeast Regional Computing Program), an EDUCAUSE affiliate with over 220 member institutions. She also serves as a member of the Town of Needham's Technology Advisory Committee.
Back to top
Dr. Michael Moody joined Olin College from Harvey Mudd College, an engineering-focused member of the Claremont colleges in California. At Harvey Mudd, Dr. Moody was the Diana and Kenneth Jonsson Professor of Mathematics and chair of the mathematics department. While there, he played a major role in a comprehensive curriculum design effort and built the mathematics department into one of the finest in the country. Dr. Moody received his B.A. degree from the University of California at San Diego in 1975, and completed a doctorate in applied mathematics at the University of Chicago in 1979. In 1981 he joined the faculty at Washington State University. His appointment at Harvey Mudd began in 1994. Dr. Moody's research in biomathematics focuses on genetic models for evolving populations. His developmental work in teaching is concentrated on designing and implementing curricular models and technological tools to improve mathematics education for engineers and scientists. At Olin, he is responsible for creating a strong academic and administrative infrastructure to advance the college's unique educational mission. In particular, he will focus on developing Olin's innovative curriculum and recruiting outstanding faculty.
Back to top
Dr. Charles (“Charlie”) Nolan became the Vice President for External Relations and Dean of Admission on June 1, 2006. He was the former Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. For four years prior to that appointment, Dr. Nolan was the founding Dean of Admission at Olin College. He has over 30 years of experience in the field of admission and recruiting, serving as Director of Admission at Bentley College, Director of Undergraduate Admission at Boston College, Assistant Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Admission at Washington University in St. Louis and Dean of Undergraduate Admission at Babson College, where he successfully led an enrollment program that substantially increased applications and the SAT scores of incoming freshmen. He is highly regarded nationally for his achievement in modern recruiting techniques. Dr. Nolan received a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College and a B.A. in history from Curry College. He has served as a consultant for several colleges and universities, spoken at regional and national conferences on innovative ways to involve the whole campus in attracting and retaining high quality students and co-authored a chapter on admission published in Global Cases in Benchmarking.
Back to top
