As I reflect on my time as dean of the College of Science and Engineering, I am reminded of a quote from Vincent Van Gogh that says, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Tiny kernels of ideas have turned into big plans. Small and large donations have added up to make an enormous impact. And we’ve come together to meet one of the greatest challenges in a century caused by a virus we can’t even see.
Over the last three years, we have set out on a path to increase the college’s incoming class by 100 students each year to meet the industry need for more scientists and engineers. This fall, we exceeded our goal and welcomed 1,453 new first-year students compared to 1,152 in Fall 2018—a 26 percent increase and the largest freshman class in history. The number of first-year students of color increased 80 percent from 233 in Fall 2018 to 422 in Fall 2021. This year’s incoming class also has 452 women—the highest number in history. We achieved our goal despite a dip in new student enrollment last fall due to the pandemic.
All of this doesn’t happen by accident. We met our goal through the many efforts of faculty, staff, alumni volunteers, and donors to support students. Faculty and staff made huge adjustments during the pandemic to continue our education and research missions. Our University quickly adapted to teaching classes remotely and it is now back to teaching more than 80 percent in-person classes again to give students the on-campus, hands-on experiences they need.
Our college’s Diversity and Inclusivity Alliance was established in Fall 2019 through a grassroots effort born from the endeavors of a handful of people. Today, the Alliance has more than 500 champions who are working to change the culture and improve the climate in our college by bringing members of the CSE community together to identify critical diversity issues, develop action plans, and support efforts to diversify at all levels and units of the college.
In this issue of Inventing Tomorrow, we highlight the impact of our alumni and donors. Gifts, large and small, helped us surpass our goals with the University’s Driven campaign to double the number of scholarships and increase resources for faculty research, recruitment, and retention. We were also able to renovate spaces for student services and research, including a new student innovation lab and robotics lab. CSE alumni gave their time as well to mentoring students and serving on advisory boards.
We also show the big impact of research on small things in this magazine—from mapping the chemical interactions of molecules to sending insects to space to studying the environmental impact of nanotechnology.
As we welcome our next dean, Andrew Alleyne, on Jan. 10, 2022—and I return to teaching and research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering—I want to thank all of you for your support over my nearly 17 years as associate dean and dean. I will remember all the little conversations and big ideas we’ve had together. I hope to keep doing my small part to continue on our path to accomplishing big things.
As we welcome our next dean, Andrew Alleyne, on Jan. 10, 2022—and I return to teaching and research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering—I want to thank all of you for your support over my nearly 17 years as associate dean and dean.
Read the full announcement about our next dean at CSE News.
