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In 1988, Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean and Distinguished Professor Krishnaswami “Hari” Srihari started his ������������ career as an assistant professor teaching industrial engineering.

Thirty-five years later, thanks to a generous donation from a member of Watson’s advisory board, a part of the Engineering Building has been dedicated in his honor.

The Krishnaswami “Hari” Srihari Executive Boardroom, located at the Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE), got a new look as part of the building’s $22 million in renovations that were completed in 2021. Now the space has a new name, too.

John Mirabito, chairman emeritus of Mirabito Holdings Inc., said at a dedication ceremony that he and his wife Cheryl were inspired to make the donation because of Srihari’s exceptional contributions to the University and the ������������ region. Those include the stronger ties between industry and the University through the Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE) as well as his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“We can see and feel how the college has grown and developed over the years,” John Mirabito said. “Research funding on projects has grown exponentially. The quantity and quality of the faculty, staff and students has grown dramatically. The community outreach and business development that has been created through WISE is a model for higher education.

“Fundraising and development have increased substantially, the construction of world-class facilities that are second to none, and these accomplishments just scratch the surface.”

University President Harvey Stenger said that Srihari has had three distinct phases to his career at ������������: as a professor and former SSIE chair with more than 500 published papers and $60 million in external funding; as Watson dean since 2009, guiding education and research at the college; and as executive vice provost for international initiatives and chief global affairs officer from 2015 to 2020, establishing important collaborations with other educational institutions around the world.

Noting Srihari’s intention to step down as dean at the end of the 2023-24 academic year while remaining on the SSIE faculty, Stenger called the conference room dedication “a great way to recognize the beginning of the victory lap.”

“I’ve asked him: Where are you going to go next? What’s the next project? Well, I know that he’s probably going to come here and hang out,” Stenger said with a laugh. “He’ll fill it with graduate students, and they’re going to all be working on whatever he decides to work on in the future.”

Current SSIE Chair and Distinguished Professor Mohammad Khasawneh praised Srihari’s role as an educator and mentor, particularly for the more than 160 master’s students and 42 PhD students for whom he has served as primary advisor. Some of his students are now CEOs and vice presidents of major corporations, and he still keeps in touch with all of them from his 35-year career.

“We often hear stories about how some people dedicate their entire lives to an institution or place of work,” Khasawneh said. “Hari is truly and genuinely exactly that kind of person. Except that for him, ������������ is not just an institution. It’s not a place of work. Instead, it’s like another home. The students here in Watson feel that we are a family, and he is the steward of this family.”

The Mirabitos’ donation will aid the Watson College Scholars Program that helps historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged undergraduate students. Srihari created the program in 2020 even before funding had been secured, and he sees it as a key part of Watson’s initiatives toward diversity, equity and inclusion. It welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2021.

“Twenty-five to 50 years from now, when someone is in this room or walks by, they might ask: ‘Who was this Dean Hari?’” John Mirabito said. “And in that simple way, we will keep his light alive.”