Dear LMU Community:
I am pleased to reappoint S.W. Tina Choe, Ph.D., as dean of the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. Dean Choe’s exceptional leadership has significantly contributed to the success of both the college and the university, and I look forward to our ongoing collaboration.
Dean Choe has served as dean of Seaver College for 10 years, beginning her tenure in 2014 as interim dean and appointed dean in 2015. Since taking office a decade ago, Dean Choe has established herself as a champion of student success and a leader who is poised to take Seaver College into its next chapter. I look forward to what Dean Choe will accomplish in her next term and share a few of many highlights from the past four years:
- Student success has been an unwavering priority for Dean Choe. Under her guidance, Seaver College has seen robust enrollment numbers and a more diverse student body. She has built a strong rapport with student organizations and increased support for student professional development through participation in conferences and competitions. Her commitment to experiential learning has allowed numerous students to engage in faculty-mentored research through programs like Seaver’s Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research, which has often led to student conference presentations. By significantly increasing college scholarships, Dean Choe continues to ensure Seaver College students are empowered to achieve their highest potential.
- Dean Choe has been a visionary fundraiser, playing an instrumental role in securing LMU’s largest capital gift in university history, as well as the largest gift from a living donor with the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation’s $25 million gift to support the forthcoming Engineering Innovation Complex (EIC). In total, Seaver has fundraised $57.5 million dollars over the past four years to support transformative scholarships, research, and the EIC, which will revolutionize STEM education at LMU.
- In the past four years, Seaver College’s curriculum portfolio has expanded to include an undergraduate major and a master’s degree in computer engineering, a new bachelor’s degree in statistics and data science, as well as several minor, certificate, and 4+1 programs. Seaver College has also collaborated with the LMU College of Business Administration to create the Business, Engineering, Science and Technology Bootcamp, an interdisciplinary program for LMU students that offers hands-on experience with the latest technologies, engagements with local start-ups and companies, guest lectures, and a team-based, tech-focused business plan competition. In addition, Seaver College undergraduate and graduate enrollment has increased by 10 percent since AY20-21, and college-level scholarships for Seaver College students have increased by 96 percent since AY19-20.
- Seaver College continues to build reputational excellence through Dean Choe’s partnerships with industry leaders, notably through the Industry Practice Leaders program, which brings professionals who support the many STEM fields of study and serve as resources to faculty and students through advising and mentoring, delivering guest lectures, and connecting students with other industry professionals and organizations.
- Since 2019, Dean Choe has hired 33 full-time faculty members to Seaver College and promoted and tenured over 35 faculty members. She has continued her longstanding support of faculty to establish their research agendas and has been instrumental in supporting lasting culture change through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Driving Change grant, which was secured in 2022. The $2.5 million grant has funded a summer institute for Seaver College faculty, providing in-depth education about systemic racism and its impact on the learning environment. Additionally, she has chaired or co-chaired two dean searches for LMU, which saw the appointment of the deans for the LMU School of Film and Television and LMU Loyola Law School.
I am grateful to Tina for her unwavering dedication to our students, faculty, and the entire Seaver College community. Her leadership has transformed the college in ways that will have a lasting impact on LMU’s future, and I am confident that under her continued guidance, Seaver College will reach even greater heights. Please join me in celebrating Dean Choe’s reappointment and in supporting her as she leads Seaver College into this exciting new chapter.
Sincerely,
Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost
Professor of Chemistry
