Fundraising and Alumni Engagement

Education and Workforce Preparation

Fundraising and Alumni Engagement

Enhancing workforce preparation is a key component of producing more well-prepared engineers. The college is developing enhanced undergraduate research opportunities for undergraduate students. Undergraduate research, along with ongoing competition teams, capstone and internship opportunities, provides valuable hands-on and team-based training for students along with building a professional identity. It also correlates with enhanced retention and provides improved employment prospects. Key elements of our strategy include an undergraduate research portal for a spring 2022 launch, developing early research training for first-year catalyst students for a summer 2023 launch, and developing a coursebased research project component of sophomore classes for a fall 2024 launch.

In addition to hands-on engineering experiences, our students benefit from supplemental professional skills offerings in the Jerry Holmes Leadership Program. The offerings help prepare students with business and leadership skills that are critical to job success. We are working to expand offerings that provide specialized tracks to leverage selected coursework in sustainability (fall 2022 launch), technology and society (spring 2023 launch), diversity, equity and inclusion (spring 2023 launch), and business and entrepreneurship (fall 2023 launch).

Fundraising is a critical component of strategy execution. New funds are needed for teaching and research space, scholarships and endowments to help propel teaching and research aspects of strategy. In 2021, the advancement team raised approximately $11.5 million in cash, pledges and bequests, with $1.01 million for renovations including $645,000 of cash payments (see table below). This includes funds for multiple renovations benefiting the schools of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, Computer Science and Industrial and Systems Engineering. Fundraising activities have included significant efforts by college and school leadership to engage with prospective donors in multiple forums across the nation. We have renamed our Board of Visitors to Board of Advisors. To drive college strategic priorities, we have engaged an active group of alumni leaders in standing committees to advance efforts in student affairs, research and technology and external affairs/fundraising.

List of Alumni Abbreviations: ISE - Industrial and Systems Engineering, CHE - Chemical Engineering, CORP - Corporate, AME - Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, CS - Computer Science, PE - Petroleum Engineering