President's Message

By J.P. Mohsen
ASEE President
E-mail: jpm@louisville.edu

Welcome to the website of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Whether you are a member of ASEE, a prospective member, or just someone interested in engineering education, you will find a wealth of information here.

Founded in 1893, the mission of ASEE to further education in engineering and engineering technology has never been more important. Today the world faces an array of complex problems that will require the talents and creativity of engineering and engineering technology professionals. It is also clear that important new skills will be demanded of the global engineer of the 21st century. In recent years, we have gathered significant new knowledge regarding how to enhance the learning opportunities for our students. Yet interest in engineering education continues to decline, especially among women and underrepresented minorities. We must find new ways to share the excitement and possibilities a career in engineering has to offer and the impact it can have on the quality of life.

During 2006-2007, ASEE engaged in a Year of Dialogue addressing how we can advance engineering and engineering technology education based on the collective wisdom and experience of its more than 14,000 members. This dialogue began with a plenary session at the 2006 Annual Conference and Exposition and was followed by discussion at each of the twelve section meetings. These efforts provided the foundation for an NSF-funded project to create a blueprint for transforming engineering education through educational scholarship and to initiate substantive actions to advance the proposed recommendations. Phase 1 efforts of this project over the following year involved a team of more than sixty ASEE members and educational leaders and resulted in a report titled “Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education.”  Public distribution of this draft report began in June 2009 and was presented and its recommendations were discussed during a plenary session at the 2009 Austin Conference. We are now in Phase 2 of the project. We will be soliciting input from the US engineering education community and other national and international stakeholders. The effort will be supported and strongly informed by research in engineering education published in the Journal of Engineering Education and with research and best practices that appear in the new on–line journal Advances in Engineering Education. I encourage each of you to continue to be a part of this dialogue. Of critical importance to the long term success and impact of this project will be the initiation of actions that will allow us to produce engineers who will be tomorrow’s leaders.

For the past century, many organizations have published their visions of what the technological needs will be in the future for the United States and how engineering profession might change to meet those needs. In response to these calls, engineering programs have changed their curriculum to adapt to changing societal needs so their graduates possess relevant skills and knowledge vital to potential employers. In parallel with the changing engineering and technology curriculum, there has also been a long-standing call to strengthen engineering educators’ capabilities and preparation to perform the task of educating students. This latter call, however, has remained virtually unanswered. ASEE is taking the lead to support the efforts of creating a formal, nationally recognized professional development program for engineering and technology educators. There is a current initiative by ASEE to develop such a program and it is called SPEED: Strengthening the Performance of Engineering and Technology Educators across the Disciplines. This is an on-going effort and its progress will be reported at ASEE events throughout the year.

Over the past several years ASEE’s role and leadership in international activities has grown significantly. These activities provide ASEE and its membership the potential for expanding educational opportunities for our students and faculty and enhancing opportunities for collaboration on education and research initiatives. To maximize the impact of our international activities and their benefit to our membership, we must articulate a clear vision to guide our decisions as we move forward. Over the next year one of my goals is to engage our membership and staff in developing a plan to ensure financial sustainability, defining strategies for meeting the needs of our members, and enhancing opportunities for broadening participation in engineering. 

ASEE continues to be the leader in the world in engineering and engineering technology education.  However, given the global economy in which we live and the many challenges we face, it is important we remain focused on our mission to promote excellence in instruction, research, public service; serve as a role model for broadening participation in engineering; exercise worldwide leadership; foster the technological education of society; and provide quality products and services to our members. If you have suggestions on how to better accomplish our mission or how to improve the Society, please send them to me or any other member of the Board of Directors.

July 2009

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