A university educator from Columbus with a background in science will soon take a new step professionally as dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University.
The promotion of Dennis Livesay was announced last month by the university, where he currently serves as dean of the graduate school, associate vice president of research and technology transfer and professor of chemistry.
Livesay, a 1992 graduate of Columbus East High School, is a first generation college student in his family. He is the son of Merle and Karen Livesay, who live in Columbus.
“From day one, I remember my parents wanted me to go to college,” Livesay said. “I always had a propensity for math and science.”
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He credits William Stone, a Columbus attorney who died in October, as someone who had a profound impact on him during his high school years.
The pair met when Livesay was an underclassman with an interest in bike racing.
Stone was an avid bicyclist, racer, event sponsor and announcer. Livesay said his involvement in bicycling with Stone ultimately taught him dedication and hard work.
“He was a loud, brash, opinionated individual … in a very endearing way,” Livesay said. “I was ready to take all the advice I could get. Between Bill and my parents, that kind of set the course for that part of my life.”
Livesay also credited his high school chemistry teacher, Jack Young, with helping him learn more about the sciences. The science department at Columbus East is named after Young, who retired from the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. in 2005 and died in 2012.
“He was the first teacher I wanted to learn more from outside of class,” Livesay said. “Jack sort of highlighted the beauty of chemistry. He did a very good job of (explaining) how you go about solving problems.”
After graduating from Columbus East, Livesay attended IUPUI-Columbus, now IUPUC, for two years before transferring to Ball State University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1996.
“I got serious about academics in college and did a lot of undergrad research,” said Livesay, who went on to earn his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000.
He began his career in academia at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, where he was a faculty member in the chemistry department for six years starting in 2000. His professional research interests include data analytics and computational biophysics and bioinformatics.
Prior to his arrival to Wichita State University, Livesay worked at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was professor of bioinformatics and genomics and founding director of the bioinformatics and computational biology Ph.D. program.
Livesay said he is looking forward to his new role at Wichita State as dean, which takes effect Jan. 1.
“The College of Engineering is critically important to Wichita State and our community,” Livesay said. “I am excited to work with everyone to help keep moving the college forward and create new opportunities for all. In particular, we will continue to focus on student success, diversity and research growth.”
Wichita State University secured more than $100 million in research funding over the past year, but Livesay said some of his priorities are to work to secure more money, develop new academic programs and make the university more inclusive to represent the diversity around it.
Livesay’s sister, Brittany Diebolt of Columbus, described her oldest brother as an individual with an ongoing capacity to learn.
Diebolt said he has a penchant for trying to raise the bar.
“He’s never walked away from a challenge,” Diebolt said. “He loves what he does and he’s always willing to learn more.”
Livesay offered some advice to students in Columbus who might be uncertain about what they want to do in life, and encouraged them to explore different opportunities.
“Find out what you like and find out what you don’t like,” Livesay said. “Don’t let social views or social norms impact what you want to do.”
And if students find a field they are particularly interested in, Livesay recommended shadowing someone to gain more insight.
“Don’t feel like you can’t connect with people,” he said. “Experiment, dig a little deeper and don’t be constrained by outside forces.”
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Age: 44
Family: Spouse, Lauren Beastall; son, Maxwell; parents Merle and Karen Livesay; siblings Christopher Livesay and Brittany Diebolt
Education: Graduated from Columbus East High School, 1992; bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ball State University, 1996; Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000
Professional work history:
- California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, professor in the chemistry department, 2000 to 2006
- Professor of bioinformatics and genomics and founding director of the bioinformatics and computational biology Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2006 to 2016.
- Wichita State University, professor of chemistry, associate vice president of research and technology transfer and dean of the graduate school, since 2016.
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"Don’t let social views or social norms impact what you want to do."
— Dennis Livesay, incoming dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University
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