Philip Rous
Professional Bio:
As Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Philip Rous is responsible for the delivery of the academic program, including instruction, research, academic support services, and enrollment management, including admissions and financial aid. He provides leadership as UMBC continues to build excellence among the faculty, student body, and staff. Dr. Rous oversees the campus planning process, working collaboratively with Vice Presidents and Deans to coordinate planning and budgeting for the campus.
Dr. Rous was appointed Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs on July 1, 2011. He joined the UMBC community in 1990 and holds the rank of professor in the Department of Physics. Prior to his appointment as Interim Provost, Dr. Rous served as Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. As Dean, he provided leadership in creating the College’s Active Science Teaching and Learning Environment (CASTLE), which is focused on new pedagogical models for actively engaged student learning. Dr. Rous played a leadership role in shared governance on campus as Faculty Senate Vice President and then as Faculty Senate President.
Dr. Rous was granted a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the Imperial College of Science & Technology in the United Kingdom and conducted postdoctoral research at Imperial College, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Cambridge. His research is in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics, and he has contributed to the fundamental understanding of the crystallography of surfaces, the dynamics and structure of negative ion states at surfaces, and nanophysics. Dr. Rous has a strong interdisciplinary background and the results of his research have been published extensively in materials science, physics and chemistry journals. Most recently, Dr. Rous has played a leadership role in supporting research into innovative models supporting student success, through the HHMI National Experiment in Undergraduate Science (NEXUS), the NSF Innovation Through Institutional Integration award, and a planning grant from the Gates Foundation.
