Letter from the President
Avoiding Change is Not an Option
For ASEE to remain a leader, we must be creative, bold, and strategic.
By Joseph J. Rencis
In my September 2015 Prism article entitled “Help Us Develop a New ASEE,” I discussed how we are using Strategic Doing to drive the future direction of ASEE. One priority of the ASEE Board of Directors this year is putting the Society on a path for success. ASEE is a very productive society composed of strong representational units, such as our councils and divisions. I believe the whole is greater than the sum of these parts, so the focus of this effort is on that greater sum: society-wide goals and actions that transcend the boundaries of the units.
We formed seven strategic focus area teams over the past year: Governance, Innovation, Connection, Transformation, PK-12, Diversity, and Globalization. Each team’s effort is being supported by an in-kind donation from the Purdue Center for Regional Development (www.pcrd.purdue.edu). These teams have been busy since the summer and we are excited about their progress. Each team will be updating the ASEE Board of Directors at the late February board meeting.
Many of you may still be asking why ASEE needs to change. First, we have to adapt to change—a changing world, a changing engineering environment, a change in the way students think, and a change in technology. Of course, we also have to keep in mind the health and welfare of ASEE, from a financial and relevance standpoint. Doing things the same way is not an option—we must be creative, bold, and strategic for ASEE to remain the worldwide leader in engineering and engineering technology education. You may also be asking why ASEE needs to maintain a leading role. The answer is because we can and, more important, because we must. Above all, taking on such a challenge is who we are—we are leaders in the field of engineering and engineering technology. Who else is better to lead this transformation?
We are seeking volunteers to help in this effort to develop a new ASEE. The board is challenging interested members to commit to the following three P’s—Patience, Persistence, and Participation—to help us develop a new, stronger ASEE for the future. To learn how you can help us design what’s next for ASEE, log in to the ASEE website and then go to
https://www.asee.org/strategy. On this page you will find an overview of Strategic Doing, the strategic focus teams, and how to get involved. If you are having trouble logging in to ASEE and/or would like to become a team member, contact Adrianne Troilo (a.troilo@asee.org) or me (jjrencis@tntech.edu). All ASEE members are invited to attend a mid-day ASEE Strategic Doing Update session at the ASEE Annual Conference in New Orleans on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 (see conference program for details). ASEE members will have an opportunity to ask questions of ASEE leadership and team members and to join a strategic focus team.
Another priority of the ASEE board of directors is to improve the Society’s financial status. Since the ASEE Annual Conference in Seattle, we have been diligently and continuously reviewing our finances to ensure a healthy and sustainable future. We have been working closely with the ASEE headquarters senior management team and with the chief financial officer’s team. Furthermore, we have made significant changes and improvements at the board and headquarters levels regarding business practices. I will not address ASEE’s financial details here, since its status can be more timely and effectively communicated through email. ASEE members received an email update from me in late January and can expect another one this spring. In short, we are very encouraged about the progress made since last summer.
All ASEE members are encouraged to attend a late afternoon conference panel discussion entitled “ASEE Finances Town Hall” on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at the ASEE Annual Conference (see the conference program for details). The financial status will be updated and members will be given an opportunity to ask questions of the ASEE leadership.
Thank you very much for all you do for our engineering and engineering technology students, and for your passion in making engineering and engineering technology education strong.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Joseph J. Rencis is president of ASEE.
Meet Your Staff
DIY Enthusiast—In IT and at Home
By Nathan Kahl
Brian Cheung works in ASEE’s IT department, supporting several Defense Department-sponsored fellowship programs and the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, & Institutional Research.
As with many people, Brian’s path to his current station was not direct, starting with an uprooting he resisted at the time —a move from his hometown of Dallas to the San Francisco Bay area. “It was a huge culture change! And it was during the already awkward period of being in eighth grade, and then I was moving into an area with a new group of kids who had established friendships.” Ultimately he adjusted, coming to appreciate the different opportunities provided by San Francisco and the region’s geographic diversity.
Another unexpected relocation followed. He hoped to attend Georgetown University, but inadvertently applied to—and got accepted by—George Washington University’s early admission committal program. After getting a rather large packet in the mail from GW, he realized that he was headed to Washington after all, albeit several blocks east of where he had originally intended. He has no regrets, though, noting that, among other things, it was at GW where he met his future wife.
Like a number of people in IT, Brian is self-taught. “I got a degree in criminal justice and wanted to become an attorney, but realized after some internships that law is not a good profession for idealists,” he recalls. He gravitated to the nonprofit sector and found himself deeply involved in marketing and communications, but it wasn’t professionally fulfilling. “I didn’t want a career in that. I liked the technical aspects of the job, and I like being able to present data and information in a way that gets people to respond. The whole analytical side was really tickling me, and I realized there was a ‘there’ there.” Brian took some online Ruby on Rails classes and then invested in more intense, in-person training. A headhunter helped connect him with ASEE in 2013.
Despite being a self-described “snow snob” when he first moved to Washington, having to give up Tahoe’s peaks for modest mid-Atlantic slopes, Brian and wife Lorelei enjoy taking sons Harrison, three, and Elias, nine months, outdoors to enjoy the trails and landscapes of Virginia. In addition, Brian rides his bike 24 miles to work any day that it’s not snowing, even braving winter mornings that don’t climb out of the teens. Brian enjoys DIY activities and will attempt any fix around the house that won’t result in him potentially “destroying the foundation or taking down a wall.” Lorelei is president of a local grassroots time-bank exchange, where people trade services; when Brian tunes up a bike for a neighbor it results in some babysitting time for the busy couple.
At ASEE, Brian says he most enjoys the people he works with. “I like our team—both the IT team and the overall team. There are some highly motivated and skilled people here, and our mission is extremely important.” Brian is an important member of that team, and ASEE is lucky his roundabout route led him here.