 On September 26 the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department met at the Saint Thomas Conference Center in Bothell for the annual autumn faculty advance. The main topic of discussion at this day-long event was the department's graduate program. The session was opened by Professor Ashley F. Emery, department chairman, who welcomed the thirty faculty and emeritus faculty in attendance.
Professor Dorothy Reed, College of Engineering associate dean for academic affairs, spoke to the group on the Accredation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) visit coming this November. Following her was Professor Mark Damborg, associate dean for research and Facilities, who commented on current University and College of Engineering research programs and the status of research funding.
Professor Emery presented background information on the graduate program, then introduced Barb Balla, the facilitator for the advance. She organized the participants into four groups to discuss the environment and how changes in the workplace, research funding, and on the campus are affecting the graduate program. Each group discussed these issues and came up with a list of concerns to be addressed by the entire group.
Just before lunch the faculty gathered to hear comments by J. Ray Bowen, dean of the College of Engineering, who presented his views on the future of the college. Following lunch, the four groups continued their discussions, then met together to present their results.
Professor Jean Loup Baer, chairman of the College of Engineering Dean Search Committee, addressed the faculty on the search process and updated them on progress in the search to name the successor to Dean Bowen, who steps down as dean in 1996. The faculty then discussed the major issues they had earlier identified and discussed broad outlines for revision of the graduate curriculum. These ideas will be taken up at a later date by the department's Graduate Education Committee. This committee, chaired by Professor Fred Gessner, will work out plans for curriculum revision, then present them to the faculty for consideration next spring.
The discussions were intense, and many different viewpoints were presented. Ms. Balla summed up the day's work as an exciting start on the road to revision of the graduate curriculum. Professor Emery concluded the session by thanking the participants and inviting them to join him for a faculty/staff picnic. Over 60 faculty, staff, and family members gathered on the conference center lawn to unwind, eat, and enjoy each other's company. The picnic gave everyone a welcome time to relax before heading back to campus for the first day of classes September 27.
|
