Chemical Engineering Department Head Steps Down

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Effective Aug. 13, Tom Spicer will be leaving the post of head of the Ralph E. Martin department of chemical engineering. Spicer will be replaced by an interim head until a permanent department head is named after a national search.

“We, in the College of Engineering and the University of Arkansas, are very grateful to Tom for his leadership and to his wife Kyle who has strongly supported Tom during this period, and we wish them well in their new endeavors,” said Ashok Saxena, dean of the College of Engineering. “I am confident that Tom will continue to be a strong contributor in the department and the college in the years to come.”

During Spicer’s tenure as department head, several new chemical engineering faculty were recruited, several new research facilities were created, the undergraduate program was modernized and several students and graduates of the department received national and international recognition for their accomplishments.

Spicer also reached out to the chemical engineering alumni to form an Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers. Another notable accomplishment was his work with Ralph and Kathy Martin to secure a $5 million gift that was matched by $4.25 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Foundation to name the department.

Spicer will continue to hold the Ralph E. Martin Leadership Chair until June 30, 2013, and then will assume the Maurice E. Baker Chair in Chemical Process Safety and Environmental Fate of Chemicals.