In December, Saint Louis University announced its plan to revitalize Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. Wolf Yeigh, Ph.D., then stepped down as Parks College dean, but throughout his term, which began in July 2003, Yeigh took giant steps for the school, ever seeking to increase its quality.

President of Association of Parks College Students Mike Farmer commented that Yeigh ran a “tight ship,” and that it was no wonder Yeigh was a former navy captain.

Debbie Farmer, Executive Assistant to Yeigh, said, “I served on the Search Committee that hired Dr. Yeigh. He was, by far, the most qualified individual we interviewed. It was felt that his experience, both in academia and the several committees he served on outside of academia would bring a breath of fresh air into Parks.”

The year he was hired, Yeigh changed the name of Parks college and added a Ph.D. program.

A firm believer in research, Yeigh added “technology” to the original Parks title of College of Engineering and Aviation. “Technology touches everything we do, from our top-notch and personalized teaching to our cutting-edge research,” Yeigh said. “We feel the new name will better represent the state-of-the-art programs we provide our students.”

The newly instated Ph.D. program then began in Parks as well as in biomedical engineering, strengthening the new emphasis on research. Faculty research flourished, earning major grants for the college and appointments to prominent national committees for Yeigh.

Mike Farmer said Yeigh anticipated the same ambition from students in the college.

“He expected great things from student organizations and would not support those organizations if they did not have a good proposal,” Farmer said.

As a result, Parks students excelled at national competitions, garnered honors for their research projects and earned high-profile internships.

Accompanied by Yeigh, the Parks chapter the Society of Automotive Engineers’ aero-design team went to Daytona, Fla., to compete in an international remote control, heavy lift airplane competition. The team’s micro class airplane won first place on their paper, second place in airplane design and third overall. The aero-design team’s trip to Florida and another to Texas was graciously funded by Yeigh.

He also helped fund the majority of the Parks chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers human power vehicle project, which is unprecedented at Parks.

The dean funded the group’s trip to the national ASME conference in California, where the team proudly represented Parks College to a proud industry.

Yeigh also sent the computer science majors multiple years in a row to the International Collegiate Programming Contest, which is held by the Association for Computing Machinery, the professional society for computer scientists. Students programmed their way to honorable marks at the competition.

Farmer said that Yeigh will be greatly missed and that Yeigh’s contributions have been appreciated. Through his efforts, Yeigh found donations for Parks and lowered Parks’ deficit.

“I want to thank Wolf Yeigh for his service and commitment to SLU,” Joseph Weixlmann, Ph.D., said in a University press release. “Among other things, his fund-raising efforts have helped secure a more fiscally sound future for Parks.”

Yeigh was never pleased with the extra fees for students, especially those pursuing aviation.

There were computer science faculty members in both colleges, and the old structure was confusing, costly and inefficient, said Yeigh.

The administrative structures of these units came together as the renamed Mathematics and Computer Science Department in Arts and Sciences. Neither computer science degree program was reduced or eliminated. Arts and Sciences continues to offer the Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science and Parks the Bachelor of Science.

“[Yeigh] was very focused on his goals and worked very hard,” Debbie Farmer said. “He was a great person to work for. He was demanding, but in a kind and caring way. I enjoyed working for him very much.”

Neil Seitz, Ph.D., professor of finance and former dean of the John Cook School of Business, has agreed to serve as interim Parks dean while a search begins for Yeigh’s replacement.

Yeigh will continue to stand by Parks students as a full time associate professor of engineering technology.