Dean of Dartmouth’s engineering school accepts job at Columbia

HANOVER — Alexis Abramson, who has served as dean of Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth since 2019, announced Monday she will leave after the fall term to begin a new role at Columbia University. 

Abramson, a mechanical engineer who specializes in sustainable energy technology, will become the first dean of the Columbia Climate School, according to a Monday story in Dartmouth News.

Abramson holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tufts University, and earned her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to Dartmouth, she was a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. 

At Dartmouth, Abramson oversaw an expansion of the college’s engineering programs, including the addition of about 30 new members of the faculty, and an increase in applications to its graduate programs, according to Dartmouth News. The percentage of students from underrepresented backgrounds has also increased under Abramson’s leadership.

Upon Abramson’s departure, Doug Van Citters, a professor of engineering and Thayer’s associate dean for undergraduate education, will become interim dean for up to 18 months.

A search for the next permanent Thayer dean is slated to begin next year. The college aims to have the new dean on board by July 1, 2026.