After 18 years of dedicated and exceptional professional service at Kettering University, Jacqueline El-Sayed is moving on after accepting the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer position at Marygrove College in Detroit.

At Kettering, El-Sayed is the Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. In that position she has been supervising Office of the Registrar, the Library, the Academic Success Center, the Center for Culminating Undergraduate Experiences, the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, the First Year Experience and Kettering’s renowned Co-operative Education program.

“I will remember my wonderful students, colleagues and fellow alumni at Kettering,” El-Sayed said. “Ours (Kettering’s) is a powerful learning model and I strongly believe that it constructs knowledge in a superior manner. It was a difficult decision to transition and I am going to miss everyone.”

El-Sayed graduated from Kettering in 1986 and joined the faculty in 1996. She became a full professor in the mechanical engineering department in 2007 and has served the university in a variety of capacities at the executive leadership level. 

“The breadth of my experiences and responsibilities prepares me well for my new role,” El-Sayed said. “Provost (Robert) Simpson and President (Robert) McMahan have given me the chance to be creative in developing solutions and new curriculum as well as the autonomy to execute many initiatives and see them come to fruition. I am very grateful for my experience under their leadership.”

El-Sayed earned her doctorate degree from the University of Missouri in mechanical & aerospace engineering, with expertise in nonlinear finite element analysis and manufacturing optimization. While at Kettering, she became well known for providing assistance to student groups and organizations on campus while serving on numerous professional committees and boards.

El-Sayed was appointed four times by the governor to the Michigan Truck Safety Commission (MTSC) as the commissioner representing all four year colleges and universities. During her tenure she served two terms as chair and facilitated the MTSC strategic plan in conjunction with the state and federal high way safety plans. She has also been active in the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) as Kettering’s representative to the Engineering Dean’s Council. In 2008 she was selected an American Council of Education (ACE) fellow. El-Sayed facilitated the 2010 strategic plan for the ASEE Women in Education Division as a member of the executive officers. She currently serves as a Trustee for the Bloomfield Hills Board of Education and leads two national committees: chair of the ACE Council of Fellows Professional Development Committee and the co-chair of the Undergraduate Experience Committee for the ASEE.

El-Sayed will begin her new position at Marygrove College on April 1, 2014.

“Jackie El-Sayed has served Kettering University with distinction, first as a faculty member and later as an academic leader,” said Dr. Robert Simpson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kettering. “Her work with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Center for the Culminating Undergraduate Experience, the Academic Success Center, and Co-operative and Experiential Education helped refocus and deepen the University’s commitment to student success. Her energy and enthusiasm for Kettering University and her students will be missed.”