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C O N T E N T S
Introduction 1 Mission, Vision and Core Values
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Strategic Goals Build a Research Agenda that Addresses Society’s
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Most Pressing Challenges Create a Boundaryless Learning Environment and
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Empowering Student Experience Be a Catalyst for Drexel’s Innovation Neighborhood Redesign the College’s Financial Architecture
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Conclusion 11 Appendix
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I N T R O D U C T I O N I am pleased to share with you our new strategic plan for the College of Engineering. This plan is the result of nearly a year of intense work by a committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni; discussion with a broad cross section of the College community; and consultation with selected faculty and administrators among the other Drexel colleges and the University’s senior leadership.
When I wrote to the College community last summer, I emphasized that the strategic plan must be bold yet achievable. President Fry has stated that the College of Engineering will play a central role in achieving the powerful vision of the Drexel Strategic Plan, and that the University is ready to invest in big ideas in the College’s plan providing they represent bold thinking and support the University’s goals. To that, I added that our plan must recognize resource limitations yet not be unduly constrained by them and must understand and respect the College’s culture and traditions yet not underestimate our potential to grow and change. It has also been critically important to me that the planning process be transparent, open, and inclusive in order to tap the best thinking among members of our College community as well as the ideas of Drexel alumni and other nationally and internationally recognized engineering thought leaders.
I believe the strategic plan meets these criteria. It articulates a vision and four big ideas for our research agenda, engineering education, driving innovation at Drexel, and expanding resources to support these efforts. These four strategic goals have the potential to transform the College, make us a catalyst for the University’s vision, and dramatically impact urgent societal issues well beyond Drexel. Our vision is achievable. The resources the University will commit and those the plan commits the College to obtain will fuel our drive toward our goals. But a much more important energy source will be, you, our people. The input and feedback provided by members of the College community have guided the strategic planning process and led us consensus on a set of strategies to which each of us can contribute regardless of his or her discipline, role, or position in the College.
Our consensus, drive, and expertise, combined with the contributions of the University, are powerful forces. But they are still not enough to reach our vision. For that, we must commit ourselves to creating a cohesive community – one that emphasizes service, recognition, respect, and trust and is built on the following pillars: • A culture of service woven into the fabric of the College and for which we provide explicit recognition, and appreciation. • Greater gender, bio-demographic, and socioeconomic diversity of the College’s student body, faculty, and professional staff and an environment more inclusive and appreciating of our differences. • Academic and intellectual “cross-pollination” across the engineering disciplines, using both formal mechanisms and informal means for information sharing. • Enhanced coordination and communication throughout the College that increases the efficiency and responsiveness of student academic and personal support services as well as administrative services for all faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students. • Meaningful and accessible opportunities for the professional development and career advancement of faculty and staff. These qualities are fundamental to everything in the strategic plan that follows. I ask you – individual faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends – to join me in a commitment to become the community we wish to be and to achieve the goals of this strategic plan and our vision for the Drexel University College of Engineering.
Joseph B. Hughes, Ph.D., P.E., DEE Dean of Engineering
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M I S S I O N The College of Engineering graduates engineers who become exceptional leaders dedicated to discovery and the application of technology to promote economic development and improve the quality of life.
V I S I O N The College of Engineering will be internationally regarded for its impact on society’s greatest societal challenges through focused research, boundary spanning education, and continuous innovation.
C O R E
V A L U E S
All that the College does in pursuit of its mission and vision is guided by the following values.
Excellence
Ensure that all aspects of our pedagogy, research, administrative operations, and outreach are of excellent quality, embodying the highest standards of knowledge, inquiry, academic freedom, integrity, and service.
Student Centeredness
Provide for the personal, intellectual, and professional development of our students, enabling them to become leaders, be civically engaged, and pursue lifelong development.
Diversity
Value, encourage, and promote all aspects of human difference, fostering a culture that welcomes broad variety of personal circumstances and experiences, mirrors our rapidly changing world, and prepares our students to be effective citizens in an increasingly interdependent society.
Innovation
Preserve and enhance our legacy of exploration, strategic leadership, and entrepreneurial risk-taking, to find new and better ways of anticipating and addressing society’s needs and challenges.
Collaboration
Expand our expertise, resources, and impact by working closely with all segments of the University and through partnerships and alliances internally and beyond our campus.
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G O A L
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B U I L D A R E S E A R C H A G E N D A T H A T A D D R E S S E S SOCIETY’S MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES At the center of one of the nation’s most densely populated urban corridors, adjoining a major transportation hub, and surrounded by numerous academic and corporate institutions, the College of Engineering is uniquely positioned to address needs of the city, region, and beyond. The College will be a leader in Drexel’s “One University” transformation by combining its expertise with the strengths of the other colleges, and deepening its relationships with industry to develop at least three interdisciplinary research areas focused on critical societal challenges.
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Establish the College among the Leading Voices on Energy and the Environment in the Nation. By creating an Institute and working closely with the University’s other colleges to build broad public understanding of the scientific, public policy, financial, and political issues surrounding energy and the environment, the College of Engineering will establish Drexel as a renown authority on these inherently complex issues and a balanced and thoughtful party in the public debate that surrounds them. • Develop research groups on new energy sources, economical conversion technologies, efficient storage methods, and optimal distribution systems. • Promote research on environmental issues arising from energy production, new materials for energy conversion, and energy efficiency in the built environment. • Build a strong focus on renewable energy production and green technologies. • Disseminate research results broadly to inform the scientific community, public discussion, and policy formulation.
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Improve the Quality of Human Health by Establishing Drexel as a Leader in the Integration of Engineering and Health.
G O A L I
Through expanded partnerships with the University’s academic health sciences colleges and external healthcare institutions, the College will develop new technologies, systems, and processes to improve human health.
To identify and evaluate potential research opportunities, the College will apply the following four primary criteria. The opportunity will: • Address issues of high societal importance. • Present opportunities for the involvement of multiple Drexel colleges. • Offer significant potential for partnerships with industry. • Build on areas of research strength and potential within the University.
• Expand our research and competencies in rapid, computationally enabled drug discovery and biomedical and pharmaceutical technology development. • Develop our capabilities in materials, robotics, and informatics to enhance healthcare delivery. • Bring to bear our research capabilities and advanced engineering technologies to the development of preventive solutions to disease in the U.S. and abroad. • Disseminate research results to healthcare providers to improve patient care. • Work with the School of Public Health, and others, to address Health needs in the developing world related to waterborne disease and air quality.
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Shape the College’s Future Research Agenda on the Basis of Clear Criteria.
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Contribute to the Development of a Strong National Cyber-Infrastructure. In collaboration with other Drexel colleges and the University’s industry partners, the College will help develop secure, efficient, and reliable computing. • Grow our expertise at the interfaces of materials, devices, hard ware, and software for communications, computing, and robotics. • Develop, deploy, and secure computer systems to control, monitor and analyze engineering systems in energy and healthcare. • Facilitate the application of new secure and reliable computer systems to industry and government sectors.
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Integrate the College’s Research Agenda into all Levels and Years of Engineering Education. • Develop introductory engineering courses for each of the primary research areas. • Introduce engineering students to other academic fields – such as policy studies, public health, design, and behavioral studies – that bear on each research area. • Re-imagine the senior design project to reflect our research agenda.
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G O A L II C R E A T E A B O U N D A R Y L E S S L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T AND EMPOWERING STUDENT EXPERIENCE The future of engineering education at Drexel is rooted in the College’s history of creating innovative learning approaches in response to emerging technologies, changing global markets, and increasingly diverse cohorts of students, faculty, and staff. In addition, other academic units, including the Lebow College of Business, Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship, and Pennoni Honors College, provide opportunities to incorporate additional fields, including leadership, entrepreneurship, and management, throughout our curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students. Academics represent only one facet of engineering education. The co-op experience is a fundamental part of student learning and has been a significant reason for the success of our students after graduation. We will intensify the impact of innovations in both of these areas, curriculum and co-op, by changes we make in our culture and physical environment. We will blur the lines that traditionally divide academic settings, professional work environments, and student living. We will create a healthy work-life balance for students – one that provides more time for in-depth inquiry, collaboration, and creativity and helps build greater College spirit and cohesiveness. We will promote civic engagement among College students, faculty, and staff both for their education and well-being and as part of our commitment to the community in which Drexel resides. By building on our own history, partnering with Drexel colleges, and evolving our culture, the College will invigorate engineering education at Drexel.
“In support of the mission of the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship, the College of Engineering will partner with the LeBow College of Business to develop and offer new integrated engineering-business undergraduate curricula.” 6
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Enrich Engineering Co-op through E -learning,
Research, and International Experiences.
• Connect co-op experiences more closely with the academic curriculum by creating online course components for students off campus during co-op terms. • Expand the number and variety of “research co-ops” and international co-op opportunities. • Create programming on leadership development, business planning, and product design that will be provided to students through co-op experiences, in classrooms, and online. • Establish a “Co-op Showcase” as a means for students to share their co-op experiences with faculty, staff, and other students.
Infuse Engineering a nd Technology Education Throughout the University to Promote Technological Literacy . • Develop open enrollment courses, led by engineering faculty, that explain how engineering and technology impact individuals, societies, and the world. • Use the ExCITe Center (Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies Center) as a vehicle for introducing technology to students beyond the College of Engineering through multi-disciplinary, collaborative projects. • Expand the College’s participation in EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service), which brings together teams of students from different Drexel colleges to assist local not-for-profit organizations in addressing their technological and business challenges.
G O A L II
Expand Online Course Offerings and the Use of E-learning Technologies .
• Utilize online, hybrid, and e-learning technologies to enhance undergraduate and graduate courses. • Create online Drexel courses that College students can take while pursuing international study, work, or other experiences. • Establish a focus in the College on engineering e-learning research and innovation that will develop student-centered best practices for teaching engineering via the Internet. • Create new online degree programs for those seeking advanced education in engineering. • Continue the College’s work with local K-12 teachers on curriculum development and to expand the number and variety of online education modules for use in STEM education.
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Incorporate International Experiences into the College’s Curriculum, Research, and Co-op Experiences .
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• Partner with selected foreign institutions to establish articulation agreements that would assure the transferability of coursework College students complete abroad. • Develop courses – broad enough to apply to students in all engineering fields – that could be offered overseas and would fulfill Drexel engineering requirements. • Develop an international version of Drexel’s STAR program (Students Tackling Advanced Research) that will place College students in research labs abroad.
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G O A L III B E
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C A T A L Y S T F O R D R E X E L ’ S I N N O VAT I O N N E I G H B O R H O O D
The University has staked out ambitious plans to create a dynamic urban, mixed-use neighborhood in University City on twelve acres between Drexel and 30th Street Station. This new “Innovation Neighborhood” will house interdisciplinary programs, innovation partnerships, industrial joint ventures, and incubators along with residential, retail, and entertainment amenities, creating a vibrant 24/7 experience. With the possibility of high-speed rail in Philadelphia, the neighborhood will be positioned along the nation’s most important transportation corridor. The College of Engineering has an opportunity to be a leader in the creation of the Innovation Neighborhood while collaborating with the other Drexel colleges on initiatives that support the College’s new vision and that of the University as a whole.
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“The College’s activities in the Innovation Neighborhood will be driven and defined by dynamic new partnerships with industry.”
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Leverage the College’s New Research Initiatives to Support the Innovation Neighborhood. • Establish Energy and the Environment as the first resident of the Innovation Neighborhood. • Over time, relocate the College’s other new research initiatives to the Innovation Neighborhood. • Leverage the ExCITe Center to promote the Innovation Neighborhood and model Drexel’s One-University theme. • Attract leading technology firms and related enterprises to the Neighborhood.
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Ensure that the College’s Space in the Innovation Neighborhood Fosters Innovation and Strengthens its Sense of Community. • Establish new facilities for the College that significantly expand its footprint and provide flexible, state-of-the-art classroom, laboratory, and business incubator space. • Incorporate more “third spaces” – places where Engineering students can connect living and learning – by making porous the boundaries among spaces for teaching, research, collaboration, socializing, and living. • Engage engineering students in the imagination and creation of their learning and living spaces. • Incorporate attractive and dynamic visualizations to help students connect with Drexel Engineering traditions old and new, celebrating notable accomplishments by members of the Drexel Engineering community and milestones in the history of the College.
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G O A L IV R E D E S I G N T H E C O L L E G E ’ S F I N A N C I A L A R C H I T E C T U R E The College of Engineering must significantly grow its operating resources and build its financial assets to achieve its new vision. It will do so by increasing its research funding, leveraging its intellectual property, expanding its reach and enrollment through online learning, and seeking transformative levels of private support from individuals, foundations, and corporations.
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“The College will support
Diversify and Expand the College’s Research Funding. • Expand the College’s relationships with industry to substantially increase corporate funding for research. • Increase efforts to monetize the commercial value of College intellectual property. • Explore ways in which the College can significantly increase federally funded research, recognizing that there is significant competition for a declining amount of total public research support.
and promote a culture
G O A L IV
Grow Online Learning.
• Establish deeper partnerships with Drexel Online Learning to develop ways in which the College can significantly expand its on-line presence. • Pilot experimental approaches to online engineering education that would allow the College to virtually enroll much greater numbers of students. • Grow enrollment by expanding the number of professional master’s programs offered online.
of philanthropy and of giving through
strengthening of relations
with the alumni.”
Deeply Engage Multiple Phila nthropic Supporters to Achieve Transformative Levels of New Funding and Grow the College’s Endowment. • Enlarge significantly the pool of prospective donors and engage them actively in strengthening the College’s financial foundation. • Promote naming opportunities for the College, its departments, professorships, and scholarships. • Coordinate fundraising initiatives with those of the University to build the College’s endowment to support financial aid, faculty research, and the new research agenda.
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I M A G I N AT I O N , I N N O VAT I O N , I M PA C T C O N C L U S I O N We have titled our strategic plan, Imagination, Innovation, Impact: Transformative Engineering for the 21st Century to emphasize that the impact on society the College of Engineering desires is bound only by the limits of our imaginations and of our willingness to cross traditional boundaries that often hinder innovation.
Imagination The University’s Strategic Plan lays out an audacious vision for Drexel. As the oldest and largest of Drexel’s colleges, the College of Engineering has a responsibility to lead in the achievement of that future. If we are to assume this role, however, we must imagine the College in new ways, thinking exponentially beyond our current programs, capabilities, facilities, resources, and culture.
Innovation Early in its discussions, the Strategic Planning Committee characterized the willingness to cross boundaries as a fundamental condition for innovation and recognized how “siloes” that have grown throughout the College and University have hindered our creativity and diminished the quality of our academic and administrative lives. This strategic plan builds on that awareness and recommends numerous collaborative opportunities and partnerships across the Engineering departments and with the other Drexel colleges. It also recognizes that our students (current and future; undergraduate and graduate), along with postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and staff, will be empowered by a community that pierces the conventional boundaries among learning, living, and working to stimulate innovation.
Impact Throughout this plan, we have defined boldness not only as doing things that will transform the College and drive the University’s vision, but also, and most importantly, as those that will have dramatic impact on our society’s most pressing issues. This remains our touchstone – the essence of what success will look like for the College of Engineering. It is the core of our vision because it is the rationale for what we do. The fruits of the research we conduct, the education we offer, and the innovations we produce will ultimately be measured not as ends in themselves but for how we use them to change society – the lives of those around us near and far – for the better. It is to this call that I ask all of you to join me in responding.
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D R E X E L
U N I V E R S I T Y
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O F
E N G I N E E R I N G
C O M M I T T E E
Wayne Hill, Assistant Dean of College Facilities
Engineering Education:
M. Ani Hsieh, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Richard Cairncross, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Associate Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Yenneeka Long, Business Manager, Materials Science & Engineering
Donna DeCarolis, Professor and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, LeBow College of Business, Associate Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship Education
Steven May, Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering Raj Mutharasan, Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Grace Hsuan, Professor, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Dagmar Neibur, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Frank Lee, Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Banu Onaral, Director and H.H. Sun Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering
Dagmar Niebur, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Paul Richards, Alumnus, Class of 1987, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, NASA
Paul Richards, Alumnus, Class of 1987, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, NASA
Aleister Saunders, Associate Professor & Associate Department Head, Biology, College of Arts & Sciences
Aleister Saunders, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Associate Professor & Associate
Ali Shokoufandeh, Professor of Computer Science
Stephen Smith, Teaching Professor, Engineering Management
John Via, Director of Engineering Management and Associate Dean of Engineering –
Department Head, Biology, College of Arts & Sciences
Jonathan Spanier, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Online Programs, Engineering Management
Christopher Weyant, Teaching Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Delia Votsch, BS Student, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
The Student Experience
Jin Wen, Associate Professor of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Kristin Cuprzinski, MS Student, Goodwin College John DiNardo, Senior Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
Subcommittees
Dan Dogherty, Executive Director, Lindy Center
Research
M. Ani Hsieh, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Cameron Abrams, Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering Peter DeCarlo, Assistant Professor, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Youngmoo Kim, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jeremy Johnson, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Professor, Computer Science
Franco Montalto, Associate Professor, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Steven May, Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Caroline Schauer, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Karen Miu, Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Deepak Siromani, Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Raj Mutharasan, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Rachel Switalski, Director of Advising, College of Engineering Delia Votsch, BS Student, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Banu Onaral, Director and H. H. Sun Professor, School of Biomedical Eng. & Health Systems
Rebecca Weidensaul, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee; Associate Dean, Student Life
Kenny Simansky, Vice Dean of Research and Professor, College of Medicine
Strategic Planning Consultants
Anthony Knerr and John Braunstein, AKA Strategy
James Tangorra, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
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Center for Automation and Technology 3120 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 Tel: 215-895-2210 | Fax: 215.895.4929 engineering@coe.drexel.edu | www.drexel.edu/engineering
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