Srihari to continue as Watson dean

Provost Donald Nieman announces that Krishnaswami (Hari) Srihari will continue to serve as dean of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science for the indefinite future.

Srihari announced plans to step down from his position as dean in 2018. The University launched a search for his successor, but it was suspended as the University adopted a hiring hold to address financial challenges. The search resumed in 2019, but could not be completed due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Hari’s leadership has been instrumental to Watson’s impressive achievements during the past 11 years,” Nieman said. “We are indebted to him for agreeing to continue as dean because no matter how challenging the next couple of years are, Hari will continue to aim for the stars.”

“I know that Hari genuinely wanted to return to his faculty position after 11 years as dean,” President Harvey Stenger added. “I am grateful beyond words that he was willing to reconsider and will remain at the helm to lead Watson through an uncertain and critical period.”

Srihari is a SUNY distinguished professor who has been a member of the Binghamton faculty since 1988. During his tenure as dean, Srihari led Watson as it grew substantially in enrollment, research productivity, academic quality, and national and international visibility:

• Watson’s graduate programs climbed 32 spots, to #94, in U.S. News and World Report’s graduate rankings; and the Times Higher Education Ranking places Watson’s engineering graduate programs in the 175-200 band and its computer science graduate programs in the 200-250 band worldwide.
• Since 2011, overall enrollment has grown by 30% and graduate enrollment — which has been a University priority — has grown by 85%.
• Tenure-track faculty have grown by more than 60% since 2011, and 11 Watson faculty have earned prestigious NSF CAREER Awards.
• Watson appointed a director of diversity programs and initiatives in 2014, and elevated the position to the rank of assistant dean in 2020.
• Research expenditures increased by over 60% between 2012 and 2019, up from $11 million to over $18 million.

“I am honored and humbled to continue to serve as the dean of the Watson School,” Srihari said. “It is a great opportunity. Both in Watson and across campus, I work with wonderful colleagues who are outstanding professionals. Watson has a superb student body.

“The commitment of our alumni to their alma mater speaks volumes. Our external partners, from those in industry to our collaborators around the world, also help elevate the work we do,” Srihari added. “Moving forward together, the Watson team will scale new heights of excellence.”