Sanjeev R. Kulkarni (1963-) served as Princeton’s 16th dean of the faculty from 2017 to 2021. An electrical engineering scholar, Kulkarni served in many administrative roles at the University before being appointed dean.

Kulkarni, born in Mumbai, India, earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering and a master’s in mathematics from Clarkson University. In 1985, he earned a master’s in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Six years later, he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kulkarni joined the Princeton faculty in 1991 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. He was promoted to associate professor in 1997 and full professor in 2004. In 2017, he became the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Operations Research and Financial Engineering. Kulkarni is also an associated faculty member of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering and the Department of Philosophy.

Kulkarni’s service in the classroom has earned him several teaching awards, including the Walter Curtis Johnson Prize for Teaching Excellence in Electrical Engineering in 2002, the SEAS Distinguished Teacher Award in the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2004, the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2007 and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award in 2009.

In addition to his duties as a professor, Kulkarni served the University in many different administrative roles. He was the associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science from 2003 to 2005, master of Butler College from 2004 to 2012, director of the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education from 2011 to 2014, and dean of the Graduate School from 2014 to 2017.

His decades of service to Princeton paved the way for Kulkarni to become dean of the faculty. During his tenure, he established the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and helped lead efforts that increased the hiring of diverse candidates, broadly defined, for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions.

To provide a path for progression and promotion in the lecturer ranks, Kulkarni introduced the two new ranks of “University lecturer” and “professor of the practice,” as well as a new committee to evaluate appointments and promotions to these ranks. He also collaborated with administrative and faculty colleagues to lead the University’s calendar reform efforts.

After his deanship, Kulkarni returned to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to continue teaching and research.

Written by Shane B. Black for the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.