W. Kent Fuchs
For recognition of technical contributions to fault diagnosis and the design of dependable computer systems, and for academic leadership in engineering education and research
Provost, Cornell University
- BSE, 1977, Electrical Engineering, Duke University
- MS, 1982, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois
- MDiv, 1984, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
- PhD, 1985, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois
In 28 years as a faculty researcher in the engineering field, Kent Fuchs has served as a professor at three top universities, published 187 scholarly contributions, contributed editing services to seven publications, and successfully advised 35 master’s theses and 22 doctoral dissertations. He has chaired or served on over 100 conference committees, led many national councils, associations, and other professional leadership groups in the engineering field, and been recognized with many alumni, faculty, and professional awards.
Fuchs is currently Provost at Cornell University, where he serves as the university's chief academic officer and chief operating officer with oversight responsibility for a $2 billion budget. He has risen to the position after holding faculty and campus leadership positions at the University of Illinois, Purdue University and Cornell.
Following completion of his PhD from Illinois in 1985, Fuchs began an 11-year stint as a professor of electrical and computer engineering and a researcher at the Coordinated Science Laboratory at Illinois. He served the Purdue campus from 1996-2002, as both the Michael J. and Katherine R. Birck Distinguished Professor and the Head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Fuchs joined the Cornell faculty in 2002, rising from the Joseph Silbert Dean of the College of Engineering to his current role as Provost.
Fuchs received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Duke University Pratt School of
Engineering, where he earned his BCE degree in electrical engineering, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois Electrical & Computer Engineering Department. His research interests include dependable computing, testing, and failure diagnosis of integrated circuits.
Fuchs is a member of Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary Society) and Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering Honorary Society). He is also a Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the ACM, and Fellow of the AAAS, and is a lifetime member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association.