Dr. Theo Keith Distinguished Lecture Series
Upcoming Lecture
When: October 25 2024, 2:30 pm
Where: North Engineering room 2108
So you want (or are having) a research career?
Donald J. Leo
Executive Vice President and Provost
Ohio University
Few professions offer the breadth of opportunities as a research career in academia, industry, or government. For someone who is interested in performing cutting-edge research that addresses societal challenges and is passionate about scholarship, education, and professional development, a research career offers the ability for lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, and pursuing projects that truly make a difference in the world. But research careers are changing, and it is always a good idea to understand what is expected of you when you enter a profession. In this talk, we’ll overview current trends in research careers and offer some advice on professional expectations based on the presenter’s twenty-five years in higher education as a faculty member, dean, and now, provost in public institutions of higher education.
Donald Leo is currently the executive vice president and provost at Ohio University. Ohio University is an R1 institution that offers over 250 degrees to over 29,000 students in Athens, OH, five regional campuses, and two medical campuses throughout the state. His research and scholarship is in the field of smart materials, with a recent emphasis on the development of stimuli-responsive biomolecular materials. He started his academic career at the University of Toledo and then moved to Virginia Tech, where he was promoted to the rank of full professor and served in multiple leadership roles. He served as the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia from 2013 to 2024 before starting his role as provost at Ohio University on July 1 of this year. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and masters and doctoral degrees from the University at Buffalo in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He is a Fellow of ASME and has been named a distinguished alumnus of the aerospace engineering department at UIUC.
In recognition of over 50 years of service by Professor Ted Keith
Professor Theo (Ted) Keith started at the University of Toledo in 1971 as an assistant professor in the then Mechanical engineering department. Since then his illustrious and extensively awarded career has included:
- Serving as Department Chair
- Appointment to Distinguished University Professor - the second faculty member to receive the appointment at UToledo
- Obtaining over $75 million in research funding
- Establishing and maintaining a close research relationship between NASA Glenn Research Center and UToledo
- Over 300 publications
- Teaching over 40 different undergraduate and graduate courses
- advising nearly 90 graduate students