Elizabeth G. Loboa

On December 9, 2019, Dr. Elizabeth G. Loboa was named as the next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Methodist University (SMU) effective July 6, 2020. As chief academic officer for the University, she will be responsible for the overall quality of teaching, scholarship and research and all aspects of academic life, ranging from admissions and faculty development to supervision of SMU’s eight schools, library system, and international programs. SMU's eight degree granting schools; Cox School of Business, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman School of Law, Meadows School of the Arts, Lyle School of Engineering, Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Perkins School of Theology, and Simmons School of Education and Human Development.[4]

Loboa joined the University of Missouri as dean of the College of Engineering in October 2015, where she oversees more than 140 faculty members and approximately 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students. While retaining her role as dean, she assumed the larger role of vice chancellor of strategic partnerships in 2018. Loboa previously served as associate chair and professor of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, and as a professor of materials science and engineering at North Carolina State University[4]

As one of the co-leaders, Loboa was instrumental in the largest capital research project ever undertaken at the University of Missouri – the $221 million NextGen Precision Health Institute. She worked to bring together the assets of five MU colleges – Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Arts & Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine – in partnership with the Truman VA Hospital, the MU Research Reactor, and MU Healthcare.[4]

Previously, Loboa was associate chair and professor of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) and North Carolina State University (NCSU), and a professor of materials science and engineering at NCSU.[2]

Loboa serves on the advisory boards of the Association of American Universities’ Strategy for Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination, and the Columbia Business Times; the board of directors of the Heart of Missouri United Way and the Missouri Innovation Center; the executive council of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, Inc.; and on the nominations committee for the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering, among others. She is a director of the Engineering Deans Council for the American Society for Engineering Education.[4]

Loboa is an editorial board member for Current Stem Cell Reports, Scientific Reports, Biomedical Materials, and Tissue Engineering and previously served as an editorial board member of Open Orthopaedics Journal, and a member-at-large and board member of the Orthopaedic Research Society. She received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Davis in 1995, followed by a master’s degree in biomechanical engineering in 1997 and a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 2002 from Stanford University.[1]

• Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
• Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
• Insight into Diversity Giving Back Award
• University of California, Davis Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal
• North Carolina State University Faculty Scholar Award (2012)
• North Carolina State University Chancellor’s Innovation Award (2011)
• Stanford University Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award (2010)
• UK-US Stem Cell Collaboration Development Award (2009)
• Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award (2009)
• Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award (2005)