Biography

Dr. Kevan Shafizadeh is the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento (“Sacramento State”),

where he leads all academic and student affairs of a college consisting of five academic departments, six undergraduate programs, six graduate programs, three centers, nearly 5,000 students, 85 full-time faculty and staff, and an approximate $12 million annual operating budget.  Duties include but are not limited to: budget, personnel, operations, enrollment management, outreach, and advancement.  

Prior to appointment as Dean, Dr. Shafizadeh served as the Associate Dean of the College for six years, where he served as the primary point of contact for many college initiatives, such as those involving student success, student research/entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusion, safety, and communications, as well as a CSU system-wide initiative to boost graduation rates.  He established a college Student Success Center with one-stop integrated advising, tutoring, counseling, internship/career services, and other student services.  He advised the student-led ECS Joint Council, which hosted its annual Exposition, a community and outreach event attended by thousands every year.  He also established a college-wide Senior Design Project Showcase for all undergraduate and graduate programs – both in in-person and virtual formats.  Dr. Shafizadeh established, developed, and taught a professional development seminar to help boost job placement rate after graduation.

Prior to becoming Associate Dean, Dr. Shafizadeh served the Department of Civil Engineering as chair.  He managed all aspects of the largest academic department in the college at the time, serving over 750 undergraduate and 90 graduate students with 11 tenured/tenure-track faculty, two full-time staff, and over 30 part-time faculty in five disciplines of civil engineering.  He also led successful efforts with reaccreditation, faculty and staff hiring, and curricular revisions – all while managing increased student enrollment and expanding industry outreach and development efforts.  Within the civil engineering department, he headed the transportation engineering area for over a decade and taught courses in transportation engineering and planning, statistics, and computer applications in civil engineering. 

For almost 25 years, Dr. Shafizadeh has conducted engineering projects on a wide range of topics for many different clients, where he has been responsible for project development, management, administration, and quality control.  He has conducted projects involving traffic safety analyses, environmental impact analyses, traffic signal and flow improvements, transportation planning, pavement management, congestion mitigation and air quality (CMAQ) project evaluations, non-motorized transportation analyses, and telecommuting evaluations.  Past clients include and research a range of state and local departments of transportation (DOTs) and transportation-related public agencies.  Dr. Shafizadeh continues to serve as the Technical Director of California’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center, a Caltrans-funded program administered through Sacramento State, which provides training and technical assistance to local transportation agencies throughout the state.

Dr. Shafizadeh is a recognized expert and independent consultant to engineering and other firms throughout Northern California and Nevada involved in transportation-related facilities and operations.  Past clients include federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit organizations, utility companies, and private entities. 

Dr. Shafizadeh remains an active member of the engineering community. He is distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).  He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and has served as a member of several national technical committees and external advisory boards, including service as a civil engineering program evaluator for ABET, the accreditation body for university engineering programs.

In his spare time, he enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities, including playing basketball, bicycling, kayaking, snowboarding, hiking, fly fishing, and swimming. Above all, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He and his wife and their two sons live in East Sacramento near the Sacramento State campus.