Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner will become the sixth president of Milwaukee School of Engineering on Jan. 1, 2026. Baumgartner has served as MSOE’s Executive Vice President of Academics since 2017. A special inauguration ceremony will be held Friday, April 24, 2026. Details will be announced soon.

Under Baumgartner's astute leadership, MSOE accomplished numerous strategic academic initiatives. He led MSOE’s conversion from a century-old, quarter-based academic calendar to a semester-based model; led the COVID-19 crisis response committee to guide MSOE through the pandemic; supported the development of undergraduate and graduate programs focused on AI and machine learning; contributed to the design of new academic spaces such as those within the Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall, Hermann Viets Tower, and the soon-to-be-built Robert D. Kern Engineering Innovation Center; and established the Center for Professional Education. He also created the opportunity to broaden MSOE’s academic offerings in the health professions in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin; supported the launch of engineering and computing explorer pathways for undecided students; supported the formulation of the MSOE Mindset and the integration of this mindset into program courses and curricula; and created a focus on data-informed decision making by providing transparent access to data through numerous institutional dashboards. 

Specific academic offerings created during Baumgartner’s tenure as EVP of Academics include an M.S. in Machine Learning, Graduate Certificates in Applied Machine Learning and in Machine Learning Engineering, and a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Business Strategy using AI and Analytics; a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program, Post-Master’s Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate, and a B.S. in Technical and Business Management. The CREATE Institute was launched and the Ruehlow Nursing Complex was expanded. Enrollment growth in MSOE’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department necessitated a split into two departments: the Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Department and the Dwight and Dian Diercks School of Advanced Computing.  

Baumgartner came to MSOE from Ohio Northern University where he served as dean of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering and a mechanical engineering professor 2006-2017. While at ONU, he executed strategic plans and fundraising campaigns on behalf of the college and developed new partnerships and degree programs. He previously was a senior member of the engineering staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Baumgartner also taught at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Michigan Technological University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati, a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

While at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Baumgartner held leadership roles on the Mars Science Laboratory Sample Acquisition/Sample Processing and Handling team and Mars Exploration Rover project that successfully launched, landed and operated the Curiosity, Spirit and Opportunity rovers on the surface of Mars. 
 
Baumgartner and his work have been recognized with several honors, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) Outstanding Dean Award and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Robotics and Automation Award.