Niaz Latif, Ph.D.
Dr. Niaz Latif is the Dean of the College of Technology at Purdue University
Calumet. He also served for two years as the Dean of the Graduate School and
an additional two years as the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
and Graduate Studies. Dr. Latif’s academic career began as an instructor of
engineering at Louisiana State University-Eunice and then he served as an
Assistant and Associate Professor at Northern Kentucky University. In 1999, he
was appointed as the Professor and Head of the Department of Industrial
Technology at Purdue University, West Lafayette and later served as an
Assistant Dean for Statewide Technology Administration in the College of
Technology. In 2007, he joined Purdue University Calumet as the Dean of the
College of Technology.
Dr. Latif is the chief administrative and academic leader of the College of Technology at Purdue
University Calumet. In this role, he promotes faculty teaching and scholarly work, and professional
services through initiation, development, and implementation of strategic plans. He is personally
responsible for overseeing seven undergraduate degree programs and two graduate programs housed
in 3 academic departments in the College. His other responsibilities include supervision of program and
staff assessments, program accreditation, faculty promotion and tenure process, budget management,
and internal operations and external relations. He formed the Dean’s Executive Council to engage
business and industry executives which has resulted in endowments for student scholarships, academic
programs, and the establishment of a research center. Dr. Latif has received the Purdue University
Calumet’s Outstanding Administrative Leader Award. In addition, Dr. Latif is actively involved with
workforce and economic development for Northwest Indiana. He is the Executive Director of the
Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center (CMEC) at Purdue University Calumet. Dr. Latif
has also received several federal grants for workforce development, including grants from the US
Department of Labor and the National Science Foundation.
In his role as the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor of Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Latif provided
leadership that is consistent with the University’s strategic vision for: Graduate Programs, Sponsored
Research, Undergraduate Student Research, and oversight of three federally-funded research centers at
Purdue University Calumet. In the area of sponsored research, he oversaw the faculty development
activities for grants, contracts, and pre-award and post-award support for sponsored research. In
addition, he was responsible for the graduate education activities for 14 Master’s Degree programs,
development of new degree programs and courses, and graduate admissions and records operations.
Dr. Latif worked with University’s Research Board on developing research related policy and procedure.
He oversaw more than eighty sponsored research/project grants with a value of more than $20 million.
Dr. Latif earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri—Columbia and an M.S. from South Dakota
State University; both degrees are in Agricultural Engineering. He holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh. He has served as the Chair of the Executive Board of
Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE). Dr. Latif has authored/coauthored numerous refereed journal articles and peer-reviewed conference proceedings articles and has
made national and international conference presentations. His publication record includes articles
related to academic program development and assessment of academic programs. Dr. Latif is a
commissioner of the ABET and also serves on the Board of Engineering Technology Council under
American Society for Engineering Education. Dr. Latif was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of
Engineering Technology. He is a Board member of the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana.
He is a fellow of the Academic Leadership Program under the Committee on Institutional Cooperation of
Big 10 Universities.