David Mazyck has been appointed by the Walton family as the inaugural president of a new STEM-based university in Bentonville. In this role, he will oversee the planning and creation of the business-infused, nonprofit university that incorporates artificial intelligence across its academic programs and teaching methods. “We set out to find a leader capable of turning an ambitious vision into a world-class institution,” Steuart Walton said in a press release announcing Mazyck’s appointment. “Dr. Mazyck brings the imagination, intellectual rigor, and builder’s instinct to create something genuinely new in higher education.”
Mazyck most recently served as a professor and head of the School of Engineering Design & Innovation at Pennsylvania State University. There, he led an academic unit dedicated to experiential and hands-on learning, which engaged thousands of students annually. He was a special adviser to the university for strategic planning, capital fundraising, budget reform and research commercialization. Before Penn State, he held several academic and leadership positions at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Mazyck also has entrepreneurial experience. He founded and operated a company focused on activated carbon technology. He also chaired the American Water Work Association of Denver’s activated carbon standards committee for 10 years and served in the U.S. Army.
Mazyck holds a doctorate in environmental engineering from Penn State, in addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees, also from Penn State.
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