Pinpoint:
A message from the dean
Paul S. Peercy, Dean (large image) |
“Aligning a great college
with a great university”
Setting and maintaining a strategic course is important for all institutions, and especially for an institution as complex as the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Given the global economic turmoil and major societal challenges, UW-Madison must be forward thinking in how it serves the greater public good.
In her first year here, Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin has led the university in setting strategic priorities. A new strategic framework completed this spring, “For Wisconsin and the World,” outlines six core themes that will guide campus decision-making for the near future.
In the College of Engineering, this new strategic plan gives us an opportunity to re-examine our own priorities and assess the alignment with campus goals. I am pleased to report that the college not only contributes greatly to the six themes, but in selected places is demonstrating leadership that is a model for the campus.
One of the top university priorities should come as no surprise: Provide an exemplary undergraduate education. This has been an area of intense focus in the college over the past decade. We have made major investments to give our students more hands-on, technology-rich learning experiences. We are increasing the scientific and engineering depth of the education we offer, while providing more breadth, obtained by expanding interdisciplinary learning experiences and offering new certificate programs in business and the humanities. We are expanding the opportunities for our students to develop their leadership skills and their innovation and entrepreneurial capabilities.
These investments are producing a generation of engineers who are critical thinkers, good communicators, future leaders and global citizens equipped to participate in a culturally interconnected world. We also ground our students in meaningful real-world experience: More than 800 students participate each year in our highly networked cooperative and internship programs.
Other examples of selected campus priorities where the College of Engineering excels include:
Living the Wisconsin Idea. The college is home to 16 industrial consortia that allow our faculty, staff and students to spur innovation and share expertise with nearly 300 member companies. These relationships with industry are making Wisconsin companies more competitive and helping the state become better prepared to reap the benefits of the knowledge economy.
One of our newest corporate partners, Vestas, illustrates the power and potential of these consortium relationships. The world’s leading wind energy company chose the college because of its stellar research program in power electronics and its network of more than 60 companies in the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium. Through this partnership, our students and faculty are positioned to become major contributors to a rapidly growing energy generation source (full story).
Investing in areas of highest research potential. The College of Engineering continues to strengthen its impressive research programs and also has forged a strong public-interest research agenda focused on national priorities such as energy, healthcare, transportation infrastructure, nanotechnology and environmental sustainability. We are breaking down disciplinary boundaries in higher education. For example, the UW Energy Institute brings together more than 50 faculty and staff members from multiple disciplines to address challenges such as sustainable energy generation, distribution, consumption, conservation, economics and policy. The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center have formal research relationships with more than 60 campus partners.
I am also pleased that UW-Madison is supportive of the College of Engineering goals, achievements and strategic direction. This mutual support serves our students, staff and faculty well.