Winter - Rose-Hulman
Winter - Rose-Hulman
Winter - Rose-Hulman
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feature innovation<br />
On Station With Innovation<br />
<strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> Commits to Innovation Leadership<br />
<strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> Institute of Technology<br />
administrators, faculty and staff members,<br />
students and alumni are proud of the<br />
college’s continued No. 1 national ranking<br />
in undergraduate engineering education<br />
through a survey of deans and senior<br />
faculty conducted by U.S. News & World<br />
Report magazine for its annual college<br />
guidebook.<br />
However, <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> officials are<br />
just as proud of its reputation as a leader<br />
in engineering education innovation—<br />
affirmed in a study featured in the current<br />
issue of the Journal of Engineering<br />
Education.<br />
Research Notes <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong>’s<br />
Innovative Spirit<br />
For the article “Diffusion of Engineering<br />
Education Innovations: A Survey of<br />
Awareness and Adoption Rates in U.S.<br />
Engineering Departments,” Maura Borrego<br />
and Simin Hall of Virginia Tech joined<br />
Jeff Froyd of Texas A&M University<br />
in asking more than 2,000 engineering<br />
academic department heads, academic<br />
deans and professional society leaders<br />
the following question: “Which colleges<br />
or universities are considered leaders or<br />
innovators in engineering education?”<br />
The result: <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> was cited<br />
more times than any other institution for<br />
innovative engineering education practices.<br />
“Improving engineering education to<br />
produce engineers who are better prepared<br />
for the future global economy is vital to the<br />
nation’s competitiveness,” stated Borrego,<br />
Hall and Froyd in their study report.<br />
<strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> administrators and faculty<br />
members agree, believing that for the<br />
Institute to achieve its mission of academic<br />
excellence, <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> must be a leader<br />
in innovation. Teams spent this summer<br />
examining innovation in education and<br />
other career fields and hosted a Spirit of<br />
Innovation Workshop on campus before<br />
starting this school year. Leadership in<br />
innovation means that the college must<br />
excel in several areas including the practice,<br />
education and scholarship of innovation.<br />
“It is through academic excellence and<br />
leadership in innovation that <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong><br />
will define the future of engineering<br />
education and, therefore, we will have an<br />
impact on the world around us,” stated Bill<br />
Kline, interim vice president of academic<br />
affairs and dean of faculty. “A focus on<br />
innovation can serve as the catalyst to<br />
continue to improve what we teach, how<br />
we teach and the educational experience<br />
that we provide to our students.”<br />
Understanding the innovation processes<br />
has helped <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> reflect on and<br />
improve ways in which faculty members<br />
prepare students to be innovators.<br />
“The time for innovation is now,<br />
and the academic environment at <strong>Rose</strong>-<br />
<strong>Hulman</strong> is prime for this movement,”<br />
stated Rebecca DeVasher, assistant<br />
professor of chemistry and biochemistry.<br />
“We (the educators) have both support<br />
from our administration and extremely<br />
talented students that allow us the<br />
opportunity to be innovative. We must<br />
seize this opportunity. At <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong>,<br />
we pride ourselves in being the best in<br />
engineering education, and innovation is<br />
the key to us being our best.”<br />
Living-Learning Community Proposed<br />
One faculty group has proposed a<br />
living-learning community Home for<br />
Environmentally Responsible Engineering<br />
(HERE) project for a cohort of freshmen.<br />
This community will allow students to<br />
engage in discussions of sustainability<br />
in the classroom as well as in residence<br />
halls. Faculty members may have offices<br />
in the residence environment, and<br />
students will learn key skills of sustainable<br />
development and become more aware of<br />
issues concerning human health and the<br />
environment.<br />
“This idea is new to engineering<br />
education, and it is this type of innovative<br />
thinking that will bring together new<br />
ideas for emerging technologies that solve<br />
the problems we face as a global society,”<br />
DeVasher points out.<br />
Another proposed idea is the<br />
development of a Faculty Catapult<br />
program, a week-long immersion<br />
experience during which faculty can<br />
work on projects, develop their creativity<br />
and explore new areas of learning like<br />
sustainability.<br />
“It is through academic excellence and leadership in<br />
innovation that <strong>Rose</strong>-<strong>Hulman</strong> will define the future of<br />
engineering education and, therefore, we will have an<br />
impact on the world around us.”<br />
– Bill Kline, Interim Vice President of Academic<br />
Affairs and Dean of Faculty<br />
“Our students come into our<br />
classrooms facing new challenges as they<br />
learn new subjects. Our goal should be<br />
to put ourselves in their shoes,” said<br />
Julia Williams, professor of English<br />
and executive director of the Office<br />
of Institutional Research, Planning<br />
26 <strong>Winter</strong> 2010