Biography for Arash Mafi

Arash Mafi serves as the David B. Pittaway Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas. He brings nearly a decade of senior academic leadership experience at two flagship public R1 universities, having previously served as interim dean at the University of New Mexico and as director of the Center for High Technology Materials, where he led large interdisciplinary research enterprises and built partnerships across national laboratories, industry, and government.

Mafi’s leadership is grounded in advancing student success and access, as well as sustained investment in faculty and staff through opportunities for research expansion, faculty engagement, and professional development. He champions evidence-informed, mission-driven decision-making with a strong commitment to academic priorities. At KU, working in close partnership with faculty, staff, and central student services, the College has advanced student success by reducing DFW rates by 19% and improving retention, while preserving academic rigor and faculty ownership of the curriculum.

Under his leadership, the College has strengthened its research enterprise through intentional investments in faculty development, contributing to a 17% increase in research expenditures. Mafi conceived and established the Collaborative Research Luncheon series to build interdisciplinary research communities, later adopted as a university-wide program by the Office of Research.

A professor with appointments in physics and electrical engineering, and a Fellow of both Optica and SPIE, Mafi brings a cross-disciplinary perspective shaped by early-career experience in industrial R&D. He approaches academic leadership with humility, care for people, and a long view toward building institutions that endure.