Candidates for CEGE Department Head 2022

The College of Science and Engineering is conducting an internal search for Head of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering. A public forum with the candidates was held on Friday, January 21. 

Your input is an important part of the candidate evaluation process, so please submit an evaluation form for each candidate by January 31.

Two candidates are up for consideration: Raymond Hozalski and Paige Novak. Each has submitted a brief biographical sketch and their vision for the future of CEGE.

Raymond Hozalski

Raymond Hozalski

BRIEF VISION

I am excited to be considered for the next head of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering. Our department is on solid ground, but there are challenges facing us as we emerge from the pandemic, including decreasing undergraduate and graduate student enrollments. There are also potential opportunities to be exploited. In this presentation, I will discuss my relevant background, including leadership experience and financial stewardship experience. Then, I will present my leadership philosophy and my views on the strengths, challenges, and opportunities of the department. I will then discuss my vision for a larger, more highly ranked, and more diverse department, specifically touching on issues concerning teaching and research excellence; diversity, equity, and inclusion; financial plans; enrollment issues; and interacting with benefactors and stakeholders. If selected as the next head, I plan to utilize my strong communication skills to attract and retain diverse and talented faculty and students, increase fundraising, and raise our national and international reputation while fostering a culture of inclusivity, respect, positivity, and mental and physical wellbeing.

BRIEF BIO

Dr. Raymond M. Hozalski is a Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering (CEGE) at the University of Minnesota, where he has been a faculty member for over 24 years. He received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. He also completed one year of post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Hozalski is a water treatment expert whose research focuses primarily on biological processes/biotechnology. He is especially interested in the study of biofilms, which are communities of bacteria and other microorganisms immobilized on solid surfaces. His research group is well known for its body of work on biologically-active granular media filtration (i.e., biofiltration) and for its contributions concerning opportunistic pathogens in drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing and their impacts on water quality and public health. He regularly works with drinking water utilities in the U.S. and abroad on research projects and as a consultant. Dr. Hozalski is a passionate instructor, having taught seven different courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including developing new courses on soil and groundwater remediation and biofilms and a May-term class on field methods in water quality taught in Norway. Dr. Hozalski is an active member of several scientific societies, including the American Water Works Association, and has been serving as treasurer and board member of the International Humic Substances Society for the past 12 years. He also served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board Drinking Water Committee. Within CEGE, Dr. Hozalski has served in several leadership roles including Director of Graduate Studies (7 years), chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee (4 years), chair of a faculty search committee, and member of the Planning Council (5 years). He also has served on many college and university committees over the years including CSE promotion and tenure (1 year and counting), doctoral dissertation fellowship (3 years), academic misconduct review (ad hoc), and chief faculty advisor to Tau Beta Pi (5 years). Finally, he is an enthusiastic promoter of the department, college, and university.

Paige Novak

Paige Novak

BRIEF VISION

If selected as Department Head, my five-year plan for the CEGE Department is to foster a culture of enthusiastic discovery, inclusivity, and support while building on our reputation of excellence. This will lead to a US News and World Report top-10 ranking for the Environment Engineering program and a top 15 ranking for the Civil Engineering program. We will be well-known throughout the country for our outstanding faculty, strength in data and sustainability science, and strong connections to professional practice and industry. Our program will attract a growing number of diverse undergraduate and graduate students, along with increased funding to support research. We will replace retiring faculty with exceptional and diverse researchers/teachers who will lead the field. To achieve this vision, we must build on our strengths, take advantage of local and national opportunities, correct our weaknesses, and combat our threats. During this brief presentation I will describe the strategies that I will employ to make this a reality in five years.

 

BRIEF BIO

Paige Novak is a professor and the Joseph T. and Rose S. Ling Chair in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Novak’s area of interest is the biological transformation of hazardous substances in sediment, groundwater, and wastewater, resource recovery, and particularly how engineers can influence these processes. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Virginia and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from The University of Iowa. Novak was an Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Fellow in 2009 and was recently named a Fellow of the NSF-sponsored IAspire Leadership Academy, participating in the program from 2021-2023. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the Sara Evans Woman Scholar/Leader Award (UMN, 2013), the Bill Boyle Educator of the Year Award (Central States Water Environment Association, 2013), the Samuel Arnold Greeley Award (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011), and the Paul L. Busch Award (The Water Environment Research Foundation, 2007). She was named Fellow of the Water Environment Federation in 2016 and of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors in 2019. From 2013 to 2019 Novak served on the National Research Council’s/National Academy’s Standing Committee on Chemical Demilitarization. She co-directed the Minnesota’s Discovery, Research and InnoVation Economy (MnDRIVE) Initiative: Advancing Industry, Conserving our Environment from its inception (fall, 2013) until summer 2021. Novak is currently the Editor in Chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology.

Note: Registrations and questions for the public forum will close at 12 noon on January 20, 2022.
           Evaluations will close January 31, 2022.

We appreciate your input in this important process.