By Jamie Ducharme, News Correspondent

College of Engineering Dean David Luzzi’s promotion to Strategic Security Initiative executive director for Northeastern makes him the university’s second dean this month to leave a position, and potentially puts another college in a bind as the search for Luzzi’s successor begins.

“The Strategic Security Initiative (SSI) will foster and promote research across the university, independent of college boundaries,” Luzzi said in an email to The News. “The overarching goal of the SSI is to move Northeastern into a position of distinction in its scholarship in the security domain.”

Provost Stephen Director was quoted Sept. 19 in a press release that Luzzi was named to lead the Strategic Security Initative.

Director said in the release Luzzi will be tasked with leading Northeastern’s security-related research and ensuring the university maintains its leadership in the field.

“The university has three major research initiatives in the domains of human health, sustainability, and security … [and] there is overlap between these domains,” Luzzi said in his email. “Security research must be viewed in the broad context of science, engineering, technology, law and public policy, human factors, business, economics, and markets.”

Before joining the university in 2007, Luzzi specialized in security research, leading the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, founding two research-based companies and creating a technology research fellowship that spans 12 universities nationwide.

Luzzi is also largely responsible for the $12 million donation from alumnus George Kostas that made the newly opened George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security in Burlington possible.

“Unique to the university strategic research domain of security, and distinct from the domains of health and sustainability, is the need to protect aspects of the work further along the value chain from broad release, often as a requirement of law,” Luzzi said in his email. “The Kostas Research Institute provides a venue that enables Northeastern to conduct our distinctive brand of research in the domain of security.”

Despite the advantages it will bring to security research, Luzzi’s promotion  means the College of Engineering will lose its second dean in four years.

After Luzzi—under whose leadership the college saw new degree programs, research projects and tenured faculty—departs, the college will appoint an interim dean for the remainder of the year.

Northeastern announced Sept. 12 that College of Law Dean Emily Spieler would be resigning at the end of the 2011-12 school year.

The university late last month announced Terry Fulmer as Bouvé College of Health Science dean, replacing Stephen Zoloth after more than 10 years.

Thomas Moore abruptly retired in January as College of Business Administration dean, citing medical reasons. The university has yet to name a permanent replacement. Moore died June 15.

Still, engineering students seem relatively unfazed by the leadership switch.

Lara Taylor, a senior mechanical engineering major and president of the Northeastern chapter of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, thinks students could notice some change from Luzzi’s departure.

“I don’t think [Luzzi’s leaving] will have a big impact on day-to-day life,” Taylor said. “He was always a big advocate for the student groups, though, so I think there will be an impact there.”

While Taylor thinks the rest of the college’s leadership will be able to carry the load left by Luzzi, she questions the timing of Luzzi’s move.

“It is kind of strange that they did this after the semester had already started,” Taylor said.

But right now, students have not felt a ripple effect from the leadership change.

“I was completely unaware that this change was being made,” freshman engineering major Hunter Manson said. “All my teachers will probably continue to teach as they used to, [so] I think the change will really barely affect us at all.”

Engineering professor Tom Sheahan remains optimistic that little momentum will be lost when Luzzi takes his new job and the university interviews new potential deans.

“I look forward to working with the College of Engineering faculty and staff, as well as the university administration, to keep our college’s momentum going during this leadership transition,” he said.