Engineering dean one of many new faces this fall

By Richard Nieva

As Santa Clara welcomes the new faces of the freshman class, the university also welcomes several faculty and staff members -- some new and some familiar -- to their new positions on campus.

M. Godfrey Mungal

Santa Clara's engineering department will now be headed by School of Engineering Dean M. Godfrey Mungal.

Mungal, born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, is a former associate dean at Stanford University and professor of mechanical engineering for the past 22 years. Mungal has authored or co-authored more than 150 papers and boasts several teaching and advising awards, such as Stanford's Tau Beta Pi award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, according to the Santa Clara Web site. Mungal said he is eager to work with Santa Clara's undergraduate students and make personal contributions to their academic lives.

However, Mungal is setting his sights on elevating the engineering school's graduate program.

"It's a little bit ironic. What drew me here was the undergraduate program, but where my thoughts are not so much on that," said Mungal, whose research has focused on the area of thermosciences.

Mungal hopes to "stabilize" the graduate program, strengthen alumni relations and oversee the creation of a new style of engineering Ph.D, the industrial Ph.D, which is becoming more attractive to prospective employers.

At the same time, Mungal said he is committed to developing the undergraduate program.

"It's not that you can't pay attention to it, but it doesn't need as much attention as the other parts do," he said.

Though this is his first year as a Santa Clara faculty member, Mungal has been a part of the Santa Clara community since his daughter attended Santa Clara and graduated in 2004.

Lt. Col. Shawn Cowley

Shawn Cowley, a new professor of military science, will take over as the university Reserve Officers' Training Corps director. Santa Clara's ROTC program includes students from Santa Clara, as well as students from San Jose State University, Stanford University and local junior colleges.

Cowley recently finished a three-year tour of duty with the United States Army, spending two years in Germany and one year in Baghdad.

He is an experienced aviator, and he flies an AH-64 Apache Longbow, the army's principle attack helicopter. As ROTC director, he is responsible for training and teaching cadets and handling enrollment for prospective students across the country. He hopes to make his students aware of the many opportunities available to them, such as study abroad programs, he said.

"I want to make the program a strong part of the Santa Clara community, in line with Santa Clara ideals," said Cowley.

Jennifer Weller

Former Alpha resident director Jennifer Weller is now the Drahmann Center's coordinator of new student programs.

Weller's primary responsibilities involve the orientation programs and Welcome Weekend, responsibilities previously held by former director of first year programs Tim Haskell. In addition, she will be working to assess the needs of commuter students and resolve student welfare issues.

Weller joined the Santa Clara community six years ago, after completing undergraduate study at the University of California, Irvine, and attending Columbia University graduate school for student personnel administration.

When she decided to move on from her position as Alpha resident director, she said she wanted to find a way to remain connected to the university.

"Often times as you move up, you lose connection with the students, and that was something that I wanted to hold onto," Weller said. "This position allows me to stay connected with what's happening in the lives of the students."

Lester Deanes

Former Swig Residence Hall residents may already recognize new Assistant Dean for Student Life Lester Deanes from his days as resident director of the former Delphi and Cypress residential learning communities, where he worked for three years.

He then left the university to serve as academic program coordinator at the University of California, Berkeley. Deanes said he came here in large part because of its religious background and connection to the Jesuit community.

He has taken on many roles since rejoining the Santa Clara community. Deanes was selected as one of five members on the Provost's Council for Diversity, Multicultural Learning and Inclusive Excellence. As assistant dean, his work will also center around off-campus advocacy between the university and its neighbors and issues involving academic integrity. He will also be available to hear students' nonacademic "concerns or needs outside of the academy."

Deanes graduated from Lake Forest College and got his master's degree in communication at the University of the Pacific. Deanes said he plans to stay at Santa Clara "until the job is done."

"When I took this position, I took it because it meant everything I was interested in," Deanes said. "It's a job description that I wouldn't say was written for me, but that really fit what I was passionate about."

Ericka Bratton

Santa Clara alumna Ericka Bratton, '01, is a new staff advisor for the Center for Student Leadership.

Her role includes advising the Activities Programming Board and the Multicultural Center, along with overseeing eLeader, an online program for leadership development that guides student leaders with advice and activities. Bratton also teaches a section of the emerging leaders program, a two-unit course geared toward first year undergraduates. As a Santa Clara student, Bratton was involved with the MCC and served as an executive member of Associated Students.

After receiving a master's degree from San Francisco State in ethnic studies last May, Bratton said she hopes to make an impact especially on students of color, who are learning to "deal with a different generation, with different privileges."

Contact Richard Nieva at (408) 554-4546 or rnieva@scu.edu.