Time and Change

Alumni, colleagues and friends,

The journey you began with me almost three years ago has been a great experience as we worked together to secure the College of Engineering’s ascent as a national leader in engineering research and education and to continue our commitment to our land-grant obligations.

The support, counsel and mentoring of our alumni and friends — particularly that of the Engineering Strategy Council, experts who helped shape our college to meet ever-changing needs in engineering and architecture — has been a constant encouragement to me in my position as interim dean. I am grateful for your partnership as we worked diligently in pursuit of the best for our students, faculty, staff and alumni.

With the April 18 appointment of David B. Williams, former president of The University of Alabama in Huntsville, as dean, our college has entered a new era. The college will introduce him to you further as he settles into his new position.

Meanwhile, I hope you will continue to show your support of the college and work steadfastly with Dr. Williams as he makes his transition to Buckeye Nation. He is joining an outstanding team; together, we have advanced a strategy for success to lead the college toward prominence.

I’d like to highlight a few of the accomplishments we’ve made while keeping with the goals of the college Strategic Plan during the past three years:

• High-achieving students are increasingly choosing Ohio State for their engineering and architecture education. In autumn 2010, our college welcomed its largest and most diverse class of incoming freshmen in its history; our total undergraduate enrollment was 6,696, an increase of 8.2 percent over the previous year.For the 2010-2011 school year, new freshman ACT scores averaged 29.05, and 92 percent of these engineering students were in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating class.
• We strengthened academic programs and streamlined administrative resources, consolidating from 12 to 9 engineering departments. In the last academic year, we hired 15 tenure-track faculty members, a high quality group that includes seven diversity hires: one African American, three Hispanic/Latinos and three Asians.
• Our strategic partnerships with industry — many facilitated thanks to assistance from alumni like you — help our economy improve through business development and provide our students with real-world experience. You’ll read some impressive examples in this edition of News in Engineering, but I’ll single out a few:
  • 
    The Honda/ OSU Mobility Innovation Exchange, which will design the next generation of vehicles for land, water and air
  • The Pratt & Whitney University Center of Excellenceat Ohio State, focused on world-class engineering research for aviation engine power transmission and gear technology
  • Four newly established NSF-sponsored Industry and University Cooperative Research Centers, in which Ohio State now leads the nation
• We have prepared for the next century of student learning with the expansion of the ElectroScience Laboratory, a dual-use facility designed to place Ohio State faculty and industry researchers in a collaborative environment, as well as the planned 2012 groundbreaking for the new Koffolt Laboratory for chemical and biomolecular engineering, supported with a generous $17 million donation by Ernestine and William G. Lowrie, a 1966 alumnus.
• Our Engineering Education Innovation Center offers our students advanced learning opportunities and provides national leadership in the study of engineering education. We are now one of the nation’s leaders in experiential learning, providing students with real-world engineering experience and team building. And we’re taking advantage of opportunities including international relationships with universities and industries, collaborations with engineering colleges statewide, and working with Ohio State as a whole to focus on capabilities in high-growth areas.

Thank you for your loyalty and encouragement as we worked together to achieve success. I am confident that with your continued support, our college and our students will prosper and lead throughout the 21^st century.