Messages from the Deans

Innovation and Excellence in Engineering Education, continued

Ross B. Corotis, Dean

Over the last four years, the college's innovation in education has served as a national role model. The Integrated Teaching and Learning paradigm has grought to our students collaborative, team-based, experiential learning, starting in their first year. The program has twice been named among the top three winners nationally in the Boeing Outstanding Educator Award Program. The award-winning Integrated Teaching and Learning (ITL) Laboratory also hosted more than 8,000 visitors from elementary, middle and high schools; government agencies, and other universities just in the last year. Called "one of the finer teaching environments on the planet" in a Hewlet-Packard publication, the ITL Lab is featured in an article in this issue.

Word also is getting out about our new Discovery Learning Initiative and its new facility, the Discovery Learning Center (DLC), which are described in the following article. With groundbreaking in May 2000, the DLC is scheduled for opening in Fall 2001. It will be a technology-rich research and learning environment that brings together undergraduates, graduates, faculty and industry mentors for a total learning experience. With 50 percent more space than the ITL Lab, the DLC will house laboratories from every department in the college, as well as the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium.

The excitement of these educational innovations led one major corporation that supports the college to say: "This is one of the highest levels of support we have provided to any institution, in any field, anywhere in the world. . . . Congratulations for the vision and courage you've shown in making your instructional programs a model for the 21st century."

The success of both the Discovery Learning and ITL initiatives is made possible through strong relationships with industry and alumni, outstanding research and teaching by our faculty, excellent interdisciplinary and department-based educational programs, and student programs and services that provide exceptional support. Students are receiving the full benefit of attending one of the top research universities in the world, working side by side with faculty and industry partners to develop new biomedical products, analyze our water resources, develop more efficient computers, and make other important contributions to our world.

To some extent, the success of any educational institution can be measured by its alumni/ae. With this in mind, we are featuring for the first time in CUEngineering a sampling of our outstanding graduates, representing each of the last five decades. I think you will enjoy reading their stories, especially knowing that these are but examples of thousands of alums, of whom we are justifiably proud. You will also see stories about this year's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award winners as well as two other former students: Tim Gill, the founder of Quark software, who was named the College's Entrepreneur of the Year; and Stephen Bechtel of Bechtel Corporation, who received the College's Engineer of Distinction Award. We couldn't be prouder "parents."