Mack Olmsted, Senior Writer
Over the winter break, it was announced that Wafa Elmannai, Ph.D., will be taking over as the new chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Professor Robert Mauro, Ph.D., announced through an email to the department that he would be stepping down as chair and return to full-time teaching for the current spring semester.
“Hope you all had a wonderful winter break and are looking forward to a successful Spring semester,” Mauro wrote in an email to the electrical and computer engineering department. “I am writing to inform you that I will be stepping down as Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and will be returning to full-time teaching starting in the Spring 2025 semester. For your information, Dr. Elmannai will be taking over as the new Chair of our department.”
According to manhattan.edu, Elmannai joined the department of electrical and computer engineering at Manhattan University in 2018. After receiving her doctorate in computer science and engineering from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, she started out as an assistant professor. Elmannai’s main research interests include mobile communications, wireless sensor networks, design of mobile applications, computer vision and health assistive devices.
Adjunct professor Angelo Devito spoke to The Quadrangle and explained Mauro’s decision to step down. Devito mentioned that Mauro has helped benefit the department in his time as chair, and how the department voted unanimously for his successor, Elmannai.
“We went through a nomination process, and I believe it was unanimous that she was at the top of the list,” Devito said.
MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY
Moving forward, Elmannai will be in charge of running and managing the department. This includes dealing with faculty and student situations as well as being involved in everyday aspects of the department, answering to the dean and participating in the different responsibilities set forth by the vote-in.
Devito explained how he has been with the department for many years and how he has always been satisfied by the past chair’s treatment of the faculty. He explained how he feels very confident that Elmannai will do an excellent job and manage her role smoothly.
“I believe she will consider everything,” Devito said. “So I think she’s very open-minded. And I think the future of the department is headed in the right direction with her taking over as chair.”
Professor Mahmoud Amin, Ph.D., values Elmannai’s new role and explained to The Quadrangle the strength of the relationship between faculty.
“This transition will be seamless, and I am confident that the department will continue to thrive under the leadership of Dr. Elmannai,” Amin said. “She gets to be the new chair. It’s something I feel every one of us here [in the department] appreciates. We are all one family, and she’s one of the good faculty here…It’s good that she gets to lead the department at the current time, and we are happy to have her as our chair. I’m looking forward to collaborating altogether to bring the department to another level.”
*Editor’s Note: Wafa Elmannai did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.