Kenneth T. Christensen

Kenneth T. Christensen is the Provost, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at the Illinois Institute of Technology after serving in an interim capacity for one year. He joined Illinois Tech in November 2020 as the Carol and Ed Kaplan Dean of the Armour College of Engineering. As Provost, Christensen is focusing on expanding the academic offerings of Illinois Tech to maximize access by meeting an expanded base of learners (both traditional and life-long) where they are and when they are available to learn, growing the research enterprise by emphasizing translational activities and spearheading strategic industry and government partnerships, and is leading a comprehensive digital transformation of the entire university. As Dean, Christensen focused on enhancing student experience and success as well as improving the industry relevance of Illinois Tech’s engineering curricula via strategic partnerships to ensure they better meet workforce needs. Before this, he was the Viola D. Hank Professor at the University of Notre Dame and served as Chair of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering (2017-2020), Assistant Dean for Faculty Development (2015-2017) and a Provost Fellow (2017-2019). Prior to August 2014, he was a Professor and Kritzer Faculty Scholar in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also served as Associate Department Head (2012-14). He began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico (2002-2004). He is a Fellow of three professional societies: AAAS, APS and ASME.