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Provost Candidate, Dr. Andrew Ketsdever, to Visit Campus on March 30

Release Date: March 27, 2023

The third provost candidate, Dr. Andrew Ketsdever, will visit campus on Thursday, March 30. A campus presentation beginning at 9:45 a.m. is open to faculty, staff and students to attend.

Andrew Ketsdever assumed the role of interim vice president of Oregon State University - Cascades on May 1, 2021.  As interim vice president and leader of the Cascades Campus, Ketsdever has been a champion of two key initiatives including the development of an innovation district on the Bend, OR campus and an innovative career development program designed to bring career education to all students. In his current role, he also serves as chief academic officer for the campus with responsibility for expanding degree programs to meet industry needs, advancing research efforts and leading faculty instructors and researchers. He has standing as a professor in OSU’s School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering within the College of Engineering. Ketsdever joined OSU-Cascades in 2018 as an associate dean, overseeing degree programs in science, technology and engineering, and leading research and faculty diversity efforts and was also the dean of academic affairs prior to becoming the interim vice president. Under Ketsdever’s leadership, OSU-Cascades has continued to set record enrollment, revenue, and research expenditure targets while maintaining inclusive excellence and a student-focus to growth initiatives.

Prior to joining OSU-Cascades, Ketsdever was a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), where he served as department chair.  There, he was director of Online Graduate Programs for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. He was also director of the UCCS Center for Laser, Energy and Exploration Research, overseeing a research program with more than $3 million in grant and other funding.  In 2018 he was named the UCCS College of Engineering Researcher of the Year.

Ketsdever earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  While pursuing his education, he joined the Propulsion Directorate of the United States Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base.  As a technical staff member, he pioneered development of micro spacecraft propulsion systems, co-edited the authoritative volume on the subject in 2000 and holds patents in this area. He was the founding program manager for Advanced Propulsion and Power Concepts and group leader for Nonequilibrium Flows.

During a 20-year career as a civilian with the U.S. Air Force, he was appointed as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the astronautics department at the U.S Air Force Academy.  At the Air Force Academy, he was also program manager for FalconSat IV, a small satellite developed to be launched into low-Earth orbit.

Andrew is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and is an associate fellow with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Click here to read more about the provost search process.

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