David Patrick Named as Permanent/Ongoing Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Research at WWU
David Patrick has been named as the permanent/ongoing dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for Research at Western Washington University, WWU Provost Brent Carbajal announced today.
Patrick has served as interim dean during the 2019-2020 academic year.
“There is no other way to say it but that I am thrilled that Dr. Patrick will serve as dean and vice provost. After working with him during the 2019-20 academic year, I am absolutely convinced that he is the right person for the job at the right time,” Carbajal said. “Dr. Patrick's ability to think strategically and his vision for expanding our graduate education programming in scope and impact make this an exciting appointment for the university.
“On the Research and Sponsored Program side of the position, Dr. Patrick is uniquely qualified to lead, to inspire, to coordinate, and to mentor. Finally, his commitment to shared governance and experience with WWU programs make him a valued member of the campus community at various levels,” Carbajal said.
Patrick, a professor of Chemistry at Western, has served on the Western faculty since 1996. He also was the director of WWU Scientific Technical Services, as well as the Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center, and is an affiliate faculty member in Western’s Institute for Energy Studies.
“Western is well known for high-quality graduate and professional programs and for the influential scholarship and creative work of our faculty, which have few parallels among peer institutions,” Patrick said. “At the same time, we need to pursue growth and innovation in these core missions to include more graduate scholars of all backgrounds, and to expand the reach and impact of Western research. It’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Western community in pursuit of these important goals.”
Patrick earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Davis and his doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Utah. He was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University and has been a visiting faculty at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as the Institutes of Materials Science in Seville and Barcelona.
Patrick’s scholarly interests focus on solar energy concentration and conversion technologies, and organic semiconductors for electronics applications. He has been a strong proponent for involvement of students at all levels in research, and includes high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in his research group. He taught courses in the areas of analytical and materials chemistry, and energy science.
Patrick is a distinguished scholar with numerous publications and several patents from his work at Western, where he has won awards and recognitions for his teaching and research, including a Cotrell Scholar award in 2016; Western’s Arlan Norman Excellence in Student Mentoring Award in 2015; the WWU Sustainability Award in Academics in 2012; the WWU Simpson Bridging Award in 2010; the WWU Olscamp Research Award in 2005; the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2001; the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2000, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2000.
Patrick leads both Western’s Graduate School and the Office of Research and Sponsored programs. The mission of Western’s Graduate School is to advance, promote, and serve graduate faculty, students, and programs through advocacy, leadership, and oversight. The Graduate School supports all graduate programs and students at Western. For more information, see: https://gradschool.wwu.edu/. The WWU office of Research and Sponsored Programs supports Western's nationally recognized research, scholarly, and creative communities through a variety of internal funding programs and by providing guidance and resources for proposal development, submission, post-award management and compliance. See: https://rsp.wwu.edu/