Dr. Babak Elahi has been named Dean of the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts (CSLA) at Kettering University, effective Aug. 1.

“I am very excited about Dr. Elahi’s appointment. He is a proven academic leader and a respected administrator. His expertise and experience will provide critical leadership to the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts,” said University Provost Dr. James Zhang. “Dr. Elahi’s strong commitment to teaching and learning, research excellence and academic leadership make him the perfect fit for the position.”

Elahi has been Interim Dean of the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts since Jan. 2023. He joined Kettering in 2019 as the Department Head of Liberal Arts. He teaches literature, film studies and technical communication as well as sophomore and senior seminar in the Liberal Arts Department. 

“I’m excited to bring my vision for the college to my colleagues and the University,” Elahi said. “It is sobering because this comes with a lot of responsibility to students, faculty and staff. I’m confident I can provide the leadership the college needs right now.”

In addition, Elahi has served on the University’s Board of Trustees Committee on Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations, on the President’s Taskforce on Realignment and Reinvention, as a faculty liaison to the CSLA Advisory Cabinet, and on the Working Group on Employee Satisfaction and Fulfillment.

Serving in the interim role provided insight Elahi said he can use moving forward.

“There is a great wealth of talent, energy and positivity in the college,” he said. “Staff and faculty as well as students—even those not majoring in arts and sciences—have a lot to offer. My role will be, in part, to harness that energy and positivity, to bring people together and build something we can be proud of together.”

Before joining Kettering, Elahi was a professor of communication and literature in the College of Liberal Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology. He also served as Associate Dean there from 2011 to 2016. 

Elahi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literature from San Diego State University; a Master of Arts degree in English and American Literature from the University of California, San Diego; and a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of Rochester.

He is a member of the Academic Advisory Council for the Neda Nobari Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco University. He also has been a member of the Middle Eastern Studies Association, the Association for Iranian Studies and the Modern Language Association.

His community service includes membership on two local Boards of Directors: M.A.D.E. Institute and Buckham Gallery. 

Elahi’s research interests include American literature, popular culture, Iranian diasporic life writing, modern Iranian fiction and documentary film. He has translated many Iranian works of fiction from Persian to English. His most recent academic article, “Reorienting Grass,” is an extended study of the 1925 documentary film “Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life” and the subsequent musical score Iranian musicians composed in 1992. Elahi also is a musician with writing and performing credits on the musical score of the 2018 independent documentary “The House of Stronzo.”