From the Dean: Strategic faculty growth

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With our dependency on technology to solve key global challenges, the demand for engineers and engineering solutions is growing dramatically worldwide. Enrollment in U.S. engineering programs has increased significantly since 2008. At Ohio State, the number of first-year students enrolled in engineering grew by an astounding 65% from 2008 to 2013, while our student ranks have grown to more than 10,000 engineering and architecture students.

Hiring and developing exceptional faculty is key to our success in educating the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers, and in advancing novel research. That’s why the college has prioritized investing in our faculty since 2009. In that time, we’ve add 87 faculty members to the College of Engineering. That positive trend will continue with the hiring of 45 new engineering and architecture faculty during the 2015-2016 academic year, bringing our total number of tenure-track faculty to more than 300 by the end of 2016. 

This growth fuels key strategic initiatives in areas such as aviation and aerospace, data analytics, engineering education, manufacturing and environmental stewardship, not to mention training the largest population of students the college has ever had served. Our efforts are amplified through unique partnerships with the College of Arts and Science, the College of Medicine, the Glenn School of Public Affairs, and among our own departments, to jointly hire faculty with interdisciplinary expertise.

Our work to strategically strengthen the college’s faculty is intertwined with the university’s Discovery Themes initiative, which leverages Ohio State’s special strengths to address the technological, social and environmental stresses that define today’s global world. Over the next 10 years, investment focused on Health and Wellness, Energy and Environment, and Food Production and Security will attract new tenured/tenure-track faculty working in these areas. These scholars will collaborate with our existing faculty, spurring the transformational breakthroughs needed to solve today's and tomorrow's grand challenges. More than 25 Discovery Themes-related searches are currently underway for College of Engineering faculty alone.

Along with hiring faculty who excel in their respective disciplines, creating a diverse and representative faculty is critical. Over the past year, 40% of our annual faculty hires were women and under-represented minorities. Since 2011, we have increased the total number of women faculty by about 25% and the number of under-represented minorities by 7%. This is an excellent record that shows we can and will have a more representative faculty.

Using a combination of strategic partnerships, sound fiscal management and a continued focus on hiring the best, most-representative faculty possible, we will continue to invest in a world-class engineering and architecture faculty at Ohio State.

David B. Williams
Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean's Chair
Dean of the College of Engineering
Executive Dean of the Professional Colleges

Category: College