Tarek M. Sobh Named President of Lawrence Technological University

Lawrence Technological University in Southfield announced Tarek M. Sobh has been appointed as its eighth president and will assume office Jan. 1, 2022.
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Tarek M. Sobh headshot
Tarek M. Sobh has been elected the eighth president of Lawrence Technological University. // Courtesy of LTU

Lawrence Technological University in Southfield announced Tarek M. Sobh has been appointed as its eighth president and will assume office Jan. 1, 2022.

The announcement was made by Douglas Ebert, chairman of the university’s board of trustees. Sobh succeeds, Virinder Moudgil, who has led LTU as president for nearly a decade.

Sobh has served as vice president of academic affairs and provost at LTU since 2020 and is a licensed professional engineer. Previously, he was the interim provost and the university executive vice president of research and economic development and founding dean of the College of Engineering, Business and Education at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

“Lawrence Tech is the creative and innovative university of the future,” says Sobh. “We are the preeminent technological university that prepares students for jobs that haven’t even been created yet. LTU makes a difference in the lives of our students and our community. I look forward to continuing this important work in my new role.”

Sobh is a noted scholar who has authored more than 250 referred journal and conference papers and book chapters, in addition to 27 books. He serves on the editorial boards of 18 journals and the program committees of over 300 international conferences and workshops in the robotics, automation, sensing, computing, systems, control, online engineering, and engineering education areas.

“Tarek has been innovative, direct, and driven in his role as provost. He has accomplished much in a short time. I have every confidence he will continue Lawrence Tech’s expansion and success,” says Moudgil.

Sobh’s background is in the fields of robotics, computer science and engineering, control theory, automation, manufacturing, AI, computer vision, and signal processing. His election is the result of a six-month national search process aided by R. William Funk and Associates in Dallas.

“Dr. Moudgil has been an exemplary leader and tireless advocate for Lawrence Tech,” says Ebert. “During his tenure, LTU has seen exponential growth in partnerships and programs along with the development of more residence halls and state-of-the-art buildings and laboratories.”

Trustee Victor Saroki, with representatives from faculty, staff, students, alumni, community leaders, and trustees, narrowed the pool to three candidates. Lawrence Tech’s full board of trustees reviewed the recommendations of the LTU community and made the final selection.

The private university was founded by Russell E. Lawrence as Lawrence Institute of Technology in 1932 in Highland Park. The institution moved to Southfield in 1955 and today the campus spans 107 acres. The campus also extends to the Detroit Center for Design + Technology in Detroit’s Midtown, and the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Affleck House in Bloomfield Hills.