Dean Emeritus Mohammed S. Ghausi this week became the third dean to have a building named after him in the College of Engineering.

The naming ceremony took place May 6 at the building formerly known as Engineering III. The building, encompassing some 36,000 square feet on three floors, opened about 10 years ago. It houses the civil engineering and applied science departments.

Chancellor Linda Katehi, in her prepared remarks, said: "To name a major building in someone’s honor, our procedures and policies manual states that an individual 'shall have achieved distinction in one or more specified ways'

"Clearly Dean Ghausi has rendered the kind of distinguished service and contributions to the welfare of the university that warrant this recognition."

Ghausi (pronounced Gow-see) served as dean from 1983 to 1996, a period of strategic growth marked by expanded teaching and research programs, and increased diversity — all of which raised the profile of UC Davis engineering.

During his tenure, undergraduate enrollment grew from 1,800 to more than 2,300, and faculty fullt-ime equivalent positions grew from 100 to 150.

Also during this time, the Department of Agricultural Engineering became Biological and Agricultural Engineering, the Department of Civil Engineering expanded to Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Department of Computer Science came into being.

Research expenditures increased five-fold in actual dollars, from $4.5 million in 1982-83 to $22 million in 1995-96, and they more than tripled in terms of constant dollars.

Under Ghausi’s leadership, the college’s undergraduate and graduate programs moved into the top-20 public institutions in rankings by US News & World Report, and all of the college’s research programs made substantial improvements, as evaluated by the National Research Council.

He championed the expansion of the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program to serve educationally disadvantaged and minority students, and, in 1991, the creation of the Women in Engineering program, the first of its kind in the UC system.

He also was instrumental in the development of three new buildings: Academic Surge, Engineering II (renamed Kemper Hall in 2003, in honor of former Dean John D. Kemper) and Engineering III (now named for Ghausi). Founding Dean Roy Bainer also has a building named after him.

After Ghausi retired, the college established the M.S. Ghausi Medal, give each year to a student earning his or her bachelor’s degree in engineering. The award is the college’s highest honor for scholastic excellence.