Dr. Rajiv S. Soman Named Associate Dean at UC Clermont College

Rajiv S. Soman has been named the new Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at UC Clermont College. Dr. Soman is a veteran educator with more than 20 years of higher education experience.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Soman join us in this capacity at UC Clermont College. He not only brings a wide array of University of Cincinnati experience, his corporate and community background will enhance our mission as a regional center for education,” said Dean Gregory Sojka.

Soman comes to the college after serving at the University of Cincinnati for 18 years, most recently as a professor at the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Soman has served as a department head at UC’s former College of Applied Science, managing the Chemical Technology Program, the Culinary Arts and Science Program, and the Horticulture Program (scientific and business tracks). During his tenure as department head, the department experienced substantial growth and productivity in each of the three baccalaureate programs.  Currently he holds the rank of professor at UC. Prior to his appointment at UC, Soman worked in the corporate world, contributing as an advanced analytical chemist in the Engineering Materials Technology Laboratories of General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cincinnati.

“It is an exciting time to be joining UC Clermont College. I look forward to my work with faculty, staff and students in addressing the needs in the workforce and the region. The college is at the cusp of spectacular growth, and I look forward to helping enhance the college so that it can be at the forefront of economic viability of the region and the state,” said Soman.

In recognition of Soman’s contributions to Teaching and Learning, in 2012, he was inducted as a Fellow at University of Cincinnati’s Academy of Fellows for Teaching and Learning. A native of India, Soman earned his doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Northeastern University, Boston. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry - with honors from Bombay University, India, and Master of Science in Applied Chemistry from the Faculty of Technology and Engineering, M.S. University of Baroda, India.

Soman has been a frequent guest scientist at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, where he spent approximately two years conducting research in mass spectrometry. He is the founder and coordinator of the International Exchange Program between University of Cincinnati and Aachen University of Applied Sciences. For more than a decade, he has supported educational initiatives for underserved students in a rural village school in Maharashtra, India, by creating an endowed scholarship. In 2010, he established a new scholarship at his alma mater, S.I.E.S. College of Arts and Science (Bombay University) to recognize exceptional female students in the field of biochemistry. Soman is also a co-inventor of two United States Patents.

Soman is a member of Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS), American Chemical Society (ACS), and Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). He served on one of Ohio’s statewide committees, comprised of educators, administrators, and parents, organized under the auspices of Ohio Department of Education and Ohio’s Special Educational Regional Resource Center, an effort that led to the development of “CONNECTIONS” – An Early Childhood Curriculum Framework for Continuity Teaching and Learning for Ohio’s Children Ages 3 through Grade 3.

Soman and his wife Frances, have three children and live in West Chester.