Tejal Desai will step down as dean of Brown University's School of Engineering on Dec. 31 to lead a new Vanderbilt University institute in San Francisco, Brown announced Nov. 5.
Desai will become founding executive director of the Institute of Innovation, Technology and Translation at Vanderbilt San Francisco. Vanderbilt expects that campus to open in 2027, according to Brown's announcement. She will also hold a tenured faculty position in Vanderbilt's engineering school.
Brown Provost Francis Doyle III is considering candidates to serve as interim dean and expects an announcement in the coming weeks. The university has not named Desai's permanent successor.
Desai, a 1994 Brown graduate, became dean in September 2022. Brown said the number of undergraduate engineering students specializing in engineering more than doubled over the past three years and research funding awards increased 40% from 2022 to 2025.
Brown credits her with work including the ongoing conversion of Prince Laboratory into the Lassonde Innovation and Design Hub, along with new programs in design engineering and sustainable energy.
The student and funding figures are the university's account of the school's growth. Her departure sets up a leadership transition while those academic and building projects continue.
