May 21, 2013
Bjong Wolf Yeigh selected as chancellor for UW Bothell
University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced the selection of Bjong Wolf Yeigh, professor and president of SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, as the next chancellor at the University of Washington Bothell, effective Sept. 1, 2013. The appointment is subject to approval of the UW Board of Regents.
“Dr. Yeigh has been a force of innovation and change throughout his career, particularly in positions of academic leadership,” said Young. “He has left a trail of success everywhere he has been, and we are very excited to have him join the University of Washington and lead our dynamic campus at Bothell as it continues to grow and develop.”
Yeigh has been at SUNYIT since 2008, where he has overseen operations for the 800-acre science and technology campus, SUNY’s only institute of technology. During his tenure at SUNYIT, he secured $15.5 million capital grants for cybersecurity and nanotechnology programs and led the effort to gain two rounds of funding for regional economic development projects totaling $119.9 million. Working in partnership with the University at Albany, a $240 million nanotechnology partnership was secured. Overseeing the largest expansion of the campus to date, he guided the building of more than $100 million in capital projects including a student center, field house, and a residential complex. He secured private and public funding to significantly add science, technology, engineering and mathematics faculty and student excellence scholarships.
Yeigh is a founding member and serves on the board of directors of the Fort Schuyler Management Corp., a nonprofit organization that supports industry-government partnerships for SUNYIT.
Yeigh holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Dartmouth, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and a master’s and doctorate in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton.
He was an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University from 1995 to 1999. He moved to Yale in 1999, where he served as assistant provost for science and technology, a fellow of Pierson College and also as a faculty member in mechanical engineering and the Graduate School.
He was at St. Louis University from 2003 to 2006, serving as dean of the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology; director, Center for Space, Technology and Engineering Policy; and as a faculty member in the Cook School of Business, Parks College and the Graduate College.
From 2006 to 2008 he was vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor in business and engineering at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt.
Yeigh, an elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, has conducted research in mathematical and computer modeling, analytics, simulation, science and technology, engineering physics, engineering management, and safety and security studies.
Yeigh’s salary will be $285,000.
The University of Washington Bothell was established in 1990 to serve students in North King and Snohomish counties. It is the fastest-growing public university in the state of Washington; about 92 percent of its students are from Washington. The university currently enrolls 4,100 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. UW Bothell inhabits a 128-acre campus that is home to one of the most successful wetland restorations in the Pacific Northwest.
