Letter from the President
As Members’ Needs Change, So Must ASEE
Without introspection, we may miss the chance to improve.
By Nicholas J. Altiero
I have communicated recently about the Strategic Doing process the ASEE Board of Directors is undertaking, with the guidance of a seasoned consultant. It has been informed by contributions from board members, many of you — our valued ASEE members – and staff. I would like to use this space in Prism to give you the “why” behind Strategic Doing.
Given the changing role of professional associations in the 21st century, the financial challenges those changes can bring about, and a desire to be nimble and pro-active, the board is using Strategic Doing to reexamine the entire society and how it operates. ASEE does some things very well, but are they the right things? We are a necessary resource for many engineering educators and strategic partners, but are we providing the right things to the right people? We have impactful reports and programs, but do these efforts fall in the scope of what we should be doing? Without deep introspection, ASEE may go along with what has worked fine for decades, missing the opportunity to evolve into something better.
For example, we must look carefully at how headquarters is organized and the work of its staff; how to enhance continual communication with members; how to reconfigure our board structure to represent efficiently and effectively the interests of our members and ASEE writ large; and how we operate our various component pieces, such as divisions, PICs, sections, zones, and councils. And if, as Don Giddens said when he was ASEE president, we want people to ask, “What does ASEE think?” on a given topic, we need to be prepared to say what, in fact, we do think.
In addition, like all professional associations, ASEE faces the challenge of attracting and engaging a cohort of young members who have new and different expectations about what they want and need from a society such as ours. Their experiences are affected by digital technology, social media, a changing publishing landscape, and learning environments I hadn’t heard of even 10 years ago, such as MOOCs and flipped classrooms. I’ll evoke Beloit College’s Mindset List to remind you that potential ASEE members – even those old enough to get tenure – have for their entire careers used a smart phone, read magazines and newspapers solely online, and been able to communicate with students over Facebook.
We must ask what this group wants and needs as it grows professionally. How will members of this group change engineering education as they become chairs, department heads, and deans? And importantly, how should ASEE change with them?
My “day job,” of course, is dean of science and engineering at Tulane University. As that institution re-emerged from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 after a four-month closure, we had a unique opportunity to reshape our approach to education. The president of Tulane asked me to be the dean of a new school, where science and engineering are more tightly interconnected. This was hard for me, given the significant changes it brought about, but what we have now is much stronger than what we had before. At Tulane we were forced to take a fresh look, which would not have occurred without the tragedy of Katrina.
ASEE has not faced anything that drastic. Our challenge, rather, is recognizing and responding to a slow evolution that does not immediately cry out for attention, but that once too far advanced is difficult to catch up with. The ASEE Board has a responsibility to our members and to 122 years of leadership in this space to make sure we respond appropriately to those changes, limiting liabilities and opening up appropriate opportunities.
I hope by now you’ve had a chance to look at and respond to the Strategic Doing “beta document” I emailed you about in early May. If not, please do so before the comment period closes on May 31.
I look forward to continuing the discussion.
Nicholas J. Altiero is president of ASEE.
ASEE Board of Directors 2015 Election Results
ASEE members elected Louis Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, to serve as ASEE President-Elect for 2015–2016. He will assume the position at the 2015 Annual Conference and become president the following year.
Full election results for all ASEE offices are as follows:
President-Elect
Louis A. Martin-Vega (550 votes)
Dean, College of Engineering
North Carolina State University
Jeffrey L. Ray (419 votes)
Dean, Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology
Western Carolina University
Vice President, External Relations
Catherine Skokan (485 votes)
Research Professor and Professor Emerita, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Colorado School of Mines
Lucy C. Morse (431 votes)
Associate Professor Emerita, College of Engineering and Computer Science
University of Central Florida
Vice President, Finance
Terri Morse (876 votes)
Program Director, Engineering Operations and Technology
The Boeing Co.
Chair-Elect, Zone II
Gary Steffen (272 votes)
Chair and Associate Professor Department of Computer, Electrical, and Information Technology
Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne
Beth Todd (252 votes)
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Alabama
Chair-Elect, Zone IV
Sean St.Clair (157 votes)
Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering
Oregon Institute of Technology
Craig Johnson (104 votes)
Foundry Educational Foundation Key Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology
Central Washington University
Call for Nominations
The ASEE Nominating Committee, chaired by Most Immediate Past President Kenneth F. Galloway, requests member participation in nominating board officers for the 2016 ASEE elections. Officers to be nominated for society-wide positions are: President-Elect, Vice President Member Affairs, and Chairs of Professional Interest Councils I, IV and V.
- All nominees must be individual members or institutional member representatives of ASEE at the time of nomination and must maintain ASEE membership during their term of office. Nominating Committee members are not eligible for nomination. The slate of candidates selected by the committee will not exceed two candidates per office.
- Candidates for President-Elect must be active members who have served or are serving on the Board of Directors. Candidates for Vice President, Member Affairs shall be limited to members who have served as Zone Chairs.
- Candidates for Chair of the Engineering Research Council, Chair of the Engineering Technology Council, and Chair-Elect for Zone I and Zone III will be nominated and selected by their respective councils and zones, as the ASEE Constitution stipulates.
- For each proposed candidate for a society-wide office, submit a biographical sketch of fewer than 400 words that documents career contributions, ASEE offices held, awards and recognitions received, and educational background. Include comments on leadership qualities, ability to cooperate with others to achieve objectives, and willingness to serve if elected. For nominations for the office of President-Elect, please include a statement summarizing why you think your nominee is a good candidate for the position. A listing of members who meet constitutional eligibility requirements for the offices of President-Elect and Vice President Member Affairs is available from the Executive Director’s office at ASEE headquarters.
- For the first time, nominations will be accepted electronically at e.barnes@asee.org. Please include a subject line that begins with the words “2016 Nomination” so that it can be forwarded to the Nominating Committee. Please be assured that your nominations are confidential and will only be seen by the Associate Board Secretary and Members of the Nominating Committee. The deadline to submit nominations is June 1, 2015.
Nominations postmarked by June 1, 2015 will also be accepted by mail. Please mark the envelope CONFIDENTIAL and address it to Kenneth F. Galloway, Chair, ASEE Nominating Committee, ASEE, 1818 N Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.
If you have any questions, please contact ASEE Associate Board Secretary, Elisse W. Barnes at (202) 350-3516 or e.barnes@asee.org.
Engineering Education Must Keep Pace with Industry Needs
By Rocio Chavela
In the past 20 years, technological advances and process improvements have dramatically altered how engineering is practiced in the workplace. It is imperative that engineering education stay abreast of these changes and ensure our graduates possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet the ever increasing challenge of global competitiveness. Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Transforming Undergraduate Education in Engineering (TUEE) is a multiphase initiative that seeks to address this need by identifying the critical components of engineering curricula, pedagogy, and educational culture required to engage all students in the engineering enterprise and enhance their undergraduate experience.
ASEE launched the TUEE project with a multiyear sequence of meetings, listening to industry needs through the membership of our Corporate Member Council and beyond, and identifying a core set of knowledge, skills, and professional qualities that will help future engineers succeed in a dynamic, rapidly changing field. The second phase of the initiative involved gathering input from students. In April, ASEE hosted 42 engineering students from across the country nominated by engineering deans and department chairs to share their views on the strengths and gaps of the current curricular structure and to discuss opportunities to improve their preparation in the core areas identified by industry.
The third phase proposes to address the chronic problem of low female participation in undergraduate engineering programs. The core activity of this phase will be an invitational workshop planned for June 12-13, immediately preceding the 2015 ASEE Annual Conference in Seattle. The purpose of the workshop is to develop and refine an action agenda that can be implemented by engineering colleges and other relevant entities.
Two additional phases are being planned, with a culminating activity involving a large group of stakeholders in the 2017-2018 calendar year.
To learn more about the TUEE initiative, please visit http://tuee.asee.org/.
Rocio Chavela is director of education and career development at ASEE.
42 Conferences and Counting
By Jennifer Pocock
When Frank Croft, associate professor and associate chair of the Civil, environmental, and Geodetic Engineering Department at Ohio State University, steps into the showroom at this year’s ASEE annual conference, it will be for his 42nd consecutive year. An ASEE member since 1973, Croft attended his first conference in 1974 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
“We used to go on campus,” he said. “At RPI, we actually stayed in the dorm rooms. [The conference] has gotten so large that it’s held in convention centers and hotels now.”
Over the years, Croft has had a firsthand look at the evolution of engineering education. The technology has changed, of course, and so have teaching methods. The programs and presentations are an inspirational means of exchanging ideas. It’s a look to the horizon of the field, he says.
“I’ve had many things that I’ve borrowed from the conference,” he says, then jokingly adds, “though some people would say I stole them – but I’ve also contributed some things as well. It’s a give-and-take thing.”
New members and attendees have a lot to look forward to when signing up for the conference, but it can be a lot to take in, Croft admits. His advice for students and new attendees looking to get the most out of the conference?
“Make sure you get to everything you’d planned on—don’t bypass anything. Make sure you find out everything new and innovative in the areas you’re heavily involved in at school. That’s where you’re going to get the presentations that do you the most good.”
What has changed the most – other than the size of the conference – and what does he miss?
“I always liked the picnics, but we don’t do that anymore; we haven’t for the last two or three years,” he said. “We always used to do a picnic on Sunday nights where people would network and talk to folks they haven’t seen for a while. That was always fun.” (A division mixer is now held Sunday afternoon.)
Finally, Croft says that ASEE sets itself apart by the many opportunities for its members.
“I think that ASEE encompasses everything a professor would want to have in a society. If you’re interested in research, there’s something in ASEE that you can hang your hat on. If you’re interested in teaching, like I am, there’s something you can be involved with.”
Jennifer Pocock is deputy editor of Prism.
Meet Your Staff
A Keen Eye on the Numbers
By Nathan Kahl
Mohani Kapali, an accounts receivable specialist, is one of the dutiful members of ASEE’s accounting staff keeping our books in order. “Even though we’re only about 70 people” at headquarters, she’ll remind you, “we have lots of contracts and transactions, so it’s always a good challenge in the accounting office.”
Mohani is from Nepal, one of the many folks bringing international perspective and talent to ASEE’s offices. Born in Kathmandu, Mohani got her start in education, opening and operating a tutoring center while simultaneously working as a summer class coach at the local university. Teaching accounting and finance, “I got to do what I love to do for two years,” she notes.
Nearly 10 years ago, shortly after grad school, Mohani and her husband tossed their names into the lottery for visas to the United States. Upon being accepted, they quickly decided on the Washington, D.C., area, drawn by friends in Rockville and enticed by the many job opportunities in the region. But the challenges facing an immigrant were many, she recalls. “I was very lost at the beginning. Where is the post office? Where is the bank? Where is the library?” And her language just didn’t cut it at first. “When I got here my English, which was British English, was not good. I would talk to people, and they’d get so confused they’d just say, ‘Never mind.’ ” Classes at Montgomery College propped up her language skills while at the same time exposing her to cultural norms and bolstering her finance degree from back home.
Mohani’s husband is currently an art student in photography at the prestigious Corcoran College of Art + Design and also a yoga instructor, offering classes at office buildings with fitness facilities. For almost a year they’ve hosted Mohani’s mother in their home, and have an idea that perhaps her younger brother will join the family in the not-too-distant future. (A sister currently resides in Australia.) A great thing about having Mom around: Mohani has an in-house cook for any Nepali dish she can think to order. And with her husband on a mostly “raw” diet, there’s more for her to enjoy.
While she has visited home only once since relocating to America, there is much about Nepal she misses, of course, but she says that her adopted country is “truly the land of opportunity. I get to have those opportunities, combined with a great educational system. And I love the diversity here; I see and know people from all different countries.”
While not at work she and her husband enjoy the outdoors, particularly local hikes at the popular Great Falls of the Potomac and Maryland’s Sugarloaf Mountain. And while its 1,282 feet put Sugarloaf just slightly below Nepal’s Mount Everest, it’s good enough for them.
Obituary
Paul Torgerson (1932-2015): Va. Tech Leader, ASEE Fellow
Paul Torgerson, an industrial engineer whose service as engineering dean and president of Virginia Tech helped the university become a leading research institution and achieve milestones in diversity, died March 29, 2015, at 83. During his 58 years as an educator, Torgerson was named a Fellow of ASEE and also served on the Journal of Engineering Education editorial board.
Torgersen joined Virginia Tech as a professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research in January 1967 after seven years as an assistant professor and associate professor at Oklahoma State University. During his tenure as dean from 1970 to 1990, Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering emerged from the bottom 10 percent in rankings for research to join the top 10 percent, according to an obituary published by the university.
Torgerson’s presidency, from 1994 to 2000, saw a near-doubling of the university’s endowment and “a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of fundraising,” according to the obituary. U.S. News & World Report ranked the engineering school among the nation’s top 50. At the same time, the university hired its first black vice president, responsible for multicultural affairs, and tapped women for the positions of senior vice president and provost, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, and head of the College of Human Resources and Education.
A native of New Jersey, Torgersen earned his bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Lehigh University in 1953, followed by a master’s in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1959, both from Ohio State University.
Torgerson, who authored several books, was elected as a Fellow of ASEE in 1991. He was also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, a Fellow in the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and 1992 Virginia Engineering Educator of the Year. He continued teaching at least one course a year until 2014.
A memorial service for Torgersen was held April 7.