Engineering school embarks on plan to raise national profile

With a new longterm strategic plan in place, the University's engineering school could move from peer to rival of dedicated tech schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Caltech within the decade.

The School of Engineering and Applied Science has taken the first steps in achieving a new standard of excellence with an initiative titled "Engineering for a Better World."

The plan, announced during Reunions, provides a framework to make the engineering school one of the most elite programs in the country, said the school's assistant dean of development, Jane Maggard.

The initiative is based on information obtained through 11 workshops held over the past year with alumni, faculty, students, adminstrators and leaders of industry and other academic institutions.

Though in its formative stages, the project is focusing on fundraising and strategic moves that will be low-cost and high-impact, Maggard said.

"We need to show momentum, even in these planning phases," she added.

Maria Klawe, dean of the engineering school, explained that each department is creating a strategic plan to be finalized by Oct. 15.

"We have created the umbrella plan, and now it is the job of each department to fill in the details," she said.

Short-term

In the near future, the engineering school will institute several first-year curriculum changes, Maggard said.

The school will gradually increase the number of interdisciplinary courses it offers, and also introduce an integrated math, science and engineering course.

As part of the school's interdisciplinary movement, Slash/Culture, a new lecture series combining technology and culture, will be launched in October.

However, many changes have already been implemented, including the introduction of new administrative positions and course offerings.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Under the direction of Stephen Friedfeld, the new engineering school dean for graduate affairs, Klawe hopes graduate and undergraduate students will have a higher level of interaction.

This term, in fact, Klawe will return to the classroom for the first time in 10 years to teach a section of MAT 104: Calculus.

Klawe said she is returning to teaching because of some students' reportedly negative experiences in University math classes, "and the best way to understand a situation is to be involved," she added.

She said she will include a mix of lecture, group problem solving and "calculus cameos" — presentations from engineering professors about the real-world application of calculus — in her class.

Longterm

By next summer, the engineering department wants to increase the number of summer jobs and internships for undergraduates, providing them with more real-world experience, Klawe said.

"We are looking to form relationships with organizations that don't currently recruit, and open up more opportunities for the undergraduates," she said.

The initiative also hopes to promote greater gender, racial, cultural and economic diversity in the school.

As part of more directed recruitment efforts, Klawe will be addressing students from women's high schools this year to encourage them to enter engineering programs.

An E-Quad cafe is scheduled to open in the spring of 2005, and a new Center for Engineering and Technological Education is expected to be built at the intersection of Olden and Williams streets by 2006. The building plans are in the process of gaining approval by Princeton Borough.