C. Roland Haden, recognized as a national role model in advancing engineering education and the profession, passed away on August 24. As part of a long, distinguished academic career, Haden served in various positions at Arizona State University including dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences from 1978 until 1987 and from 1989 to 1991. He was the youngest dean of engineering in the U.S. at the time. He later served as vice president for academic affairs and provost at ASU.
As dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS, now the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering), Haden founded the Engineering Excellence Program. He convinced the governor, the state legislature, the ASU president and local engineering companies to invest in a program that would add research excellence to the already well-established CEAS teaching excellence. The program produced tangible results including building the Engineering Research Center (ERC), hiring numerous professors who had established research careers, and establishing several funded research centers. In addition, this program helped ASU become a Research 1 university.
Haden began his career as a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering department at Texas A&M University and the University of Oklahoma. He began his administrative career as the department head of electrical engineering at the University of Oklahoma before joining ASU. Haden then became vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at Louisiana State University. Haden retired in 2002 from the Texas A&M University system where he served as vice chancellor of engineering and dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering.
Haden served on a number of corporate boards including E-Systems, Square D Company, Inter-Tel, Inc. and Crosstex Energy, MLP.
A Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Haden served as a member and past chair of the General Electric Senior Research Award Committee, chair of the Public Policy Committee, and the executive committee of the Engineering Deans Council. In 1998, he was honored with the ASEE Donald E. Marlow Award.
Haden was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
He was also a past chair of the Professional Engineers in Education division of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, the nation’s largest state professional engineering organization, and past chair of the Texas Deans of Engineering. He was named an inaugural member of the Texas Governor’s Science and Technology Council and Served on the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.
Haden was the author of more than 100 articles, reports and presentations and authored or edited three books.
He received a B.S. magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Arlington, M.S. from the California Institute of Technology and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, all in electrical engineering.
