Longtime Southern Illinois University educator Sanjeev Kumar has become the Lohr Endowed Dean of the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.
Kumar, a native of India, began work June 22 after a 24-year career at Southern Illinois in Carbondale. The civil engineer’s background is in soil mechanics, soil dynamics, soil improvement, environmental geotechnology, earthquake engineering and measurement of soil properties.
Kumar joined Southern Illinois as an associate professor in 1998 and worked his way through the academic ranks, becoming a professor in 2005 and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2008. For three years (2018-21), Kumar was interim associate dean of the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology and Mathematics.
In July 2020, he became the founding director of the School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, a position he held until coming to SDSU.
He was named as a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Before Southern Illinois, Kumar was an engineer with Geotechnology Inc. in St. Louis (1994-98).
He earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1993 and 1996, respectively. Kumar earned associate and bachelor’s degrees in 1984 and 1986, respectively, while living in India.
“I strongly believe in building relationships and cultivating a work environment where everyone’s opinions are respected and considered. I immediately felt a unique connection with the people I met during my visit and knew this is where I belong,” Kumar said when his hiring was announced in May.
