DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas College of Information has named Kinshuk, who goes by a single name, as its new dean. Kinshuk is formerly the associate dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada.
"Dr. Kinshuk brings with him great leadership and research experience," said Finley Graves, provost and vice president for academic affairs at UNT. "We look forward to Dr. Kinshuk working with our faculty to articulate a clear vision for the future of the College of Information."
Kinshuk starts his new position Aug. 15 (Monday). Regents professor of Decision Sciences Victor Prybutok has served as the college's interim dean since February.
Since 2010, Kinshuk served as an associate dean at Athabasca University, where he helped lead the Faculty of Science and Technology. While in that role, he helped facilitate new graduate programs, gained external research funding, developed strategies for student recruitment and promoted senior students and alumni to serve as mentors for new students. Before his role as associate dean, he served as director in the School of Computing and Information Systems.
Kinshuk also served as Industrial Research Chair in Adaptivity and Personalization in Informatics for the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada.
"I'm really looking forward to joining such a progressive university and my esteemed new colleagues," said Kinshuk. "I know the College of Information has high expectations and I hope to meet them and raise those even more. I am keen to contribute to the college's success and help make the University of North Texas even more prestigious."
His career accomplishments also include a variety of other academic positions. At Massey University in New Zealand, Kinshuk was the director of the Advanced Learning Technologies Research Center, as well as an associate professor and before that, senior lecturer. He was also a research fellow for the German National Research Center for Information Technology in St. Augustin, Germany. Before that he worked as a research assistant and lecturer at De Montfort University in England, an instructor at the Academy of Computer Education in India and part-time lecturer at the Government Polytechnic College, also in India. He is also the president and chief executive officer of Smart Informatics Ltd.
The native of Kota, India, Kinshuk received his doctoral degree from De Montfort University in England, a master of science in mechanical computer aided engineering from Strathclyde University in Scotland and a bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical) from University of Rajasthan in India.