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Butte College
News Announcement

Butte College Hires Accomplished STEM Dean

portrait of Dr. Robert WhiteButte College has announced the hiring of Dr. Robert White as its new dean of instruction for STEM, guided pathways and AB 705. Dr. White is a proud Butte College alumnus. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Master of Science in physics and a Bachelor of Science in both physics and mathematics from California State University, Chico.

After completing a prestigious National Science Foundation post-doctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute, where he developed a method to harvest useful information about protein-protein interactions from large genomic databases, Dr. White returned to Butte College as a physics and engineering instructor and served in that role for 14 years.

Dr. White's contributions include chairing the physical science department, where he evaluated associate faculty and led the development of departmental unit plans. He was also a member of the Academic Senate executive team, working with the college president and vice president of instruction on faculty issues. Dr. White was elected by his peers to serve as the Academic Senate president and served as the campus-wide curriculum chair for six years.

Dr. White served as the interim dean of instruction for STEM, guided pathways and AB 705 projects, where he supervised over 40 faculty members, created program-focused scheduling to improve student flow through STEM programs and managed five department chairs. As interim dean, Dr. White played a pivotal role in the design and planning of the college’s newly announced science facility and planetarium. Dr. White's expertise and commitment to Butte College will be valuable assets to the college as the institution looks to further its commitment to STEM education.

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Christian Gutierrez

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530-895-2959

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Butte College
3536 Butte Campus Drive
Oroville, CA 95965