Engineering
June 2, 2025
In a message to the University of Portland community, Provost David Mengel announced the selection of F. John Burpo, Sc.D., as the next Dean of the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering.
Dr. Burpo will begin his new role on The Bluff on January 1. Dr. Tammy VanDeGrift will continue to serve as the engineering school’s interim dean through the 2025 fall semester.
Dr. Burpo joins UP from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he has served on the faculty since 2012. He is currently Professor of Bioengineering and head of the Department of Chemical and Biological Science and Engineering — which is composed of several majors, a minor, a pre-medical scholarship program, two research centers, and four scientific instrument facilities.
In his announcement, Dr. Mengel wrote, “Dr. Burpo’s skills, experience, and engagement in our search process have evinced a singular devotion to holistic student success, a commitment to faculty and staff advancement and well-being, and a dedication to innovative, mission-centric leadership.”
“I am confident that Dr. Burpo is the right person to lead the extraordinary students, staff, and faculty of the Shiley School of Engineering into the future,” Dr Mengel added.
Dr. Burpo previously served on the faculty at West Point from 2002-2004 and has taught courses in biomechanics in the Military Academy’s Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. His achievements at West Point include developing bioengineering courses, promoting an experiential teaching-through-research model that led to enhanced student scholarships and medical school acceptances, and mentoring undergraduate students engaged in multi-functional materials research.
“It is with immense gratitude and excitement that I accepted Provost Mengel’s appointment as Dean of the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering,” Dr. Burpo said in a statement to the UP community. “The Catholic, Holy Cross mission of the University of Portland and the distinctive, student-centric engineering education offered in the Shiley School resonate deeply with me.”
Dr. Burpo earned a B.S. in mechanical-aerospace engineering from West Point, a M.S. in chemical engineering from Stanford University, and a Sc.D. in bioengineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He served more than three decades as an officer in the United States Army, including time at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash. He will retire from the military in December at the rank of Brigadier General.
“I look forward to joining the University of Portland community and working together to build upon the Shiley School’s track record of excellence and co-create an even brighter future,” Dr. Burpo said. “Although I have not yet joined you on The Bluff, I already have my UP hoodie and feel Shiley Proud!”
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