Mitch Malachowski received a B.A. in chemistry from Rhode Island College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He joined the faculty at the University of San Diego in 1984. Mitch served as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at USD from 1989-1994 and as Chair of the Theology and Religious Studies Department from 2014-2016.

Mitch maintains an active research program in supramolecular chemistry. During his time at USD, he has worked with over 130 research students and published over 50 papers, many of them with undergraduate co-authors.

Mitch is interested in the relationship between research and student learning and has published articles on fostering administrative support for research, research vs. student-oriented scholarship, promoting research in non-science areas, starting a research across the curriculum movement and changing institutional culture. He serves as the lead-PI on a $2.0 million grant from the NSF to assist schools interested in developing research-rich curricula.

Mitch was president of the Council on Undergraduate Research from 2002-2003.  Mitch has received several awards including one for teaching excellence from the University of North Carolina, the administrator of the year award at USD, the 2014 Outstanding Research Mentor Award at USD, the 1999 Davies Award for Teaching Excellence at USD, three University Professorships from USD and the Charles B. Willard award for distinguished career achievement from Rhode Island College. He was the recipient of the 2014 CUR Fellows Award and was named the 2014 CASE/Carnegie Foundation California Professor of the year.