College of Engineering Strategic Plan 2019-2024

ENGINEERING STRATEGIC PLAN 2019 - 2024

The College of Engineering at the University of Iowa is driven by talented faculty, staff, and students who are producing knowledge to address grand challenges around advanced technologies, health sciences, sustainability, energy, and the environment. Our graduates are ethical, globally-aware citizens whose work while at the University of Iowa and throughout their careers make the world safer and our use of resources more efficient. As a center of innovation and discovery, the people who make up the College of Engineering are undoubtedly improving quality of life for our Iowa community as well as for people across the United States and around the world.

MISSION

To build an inclusive, diverse and responsible community recognized for: • providing an accessible, modern education in engineering and science for future, interdisciplinary leaders; • advancing knowledge through fundamental and applied research; and • facilitating life-long learning and economic development

STUDENT SUCCESS Strategy Be a college of distinction known for supporting student success

Our goal is to provide a transformative educational experience that prepares our graduates to become an engineer and something more.

Critical Tasks • • • •

Foster an inclusive environment that supports a thriving, diverse, and supportive community

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Provide a world class undergraduate engineering education

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Indicators of Success

Attract, support, and graduate a talented and high achieving student body Maintain an enrollment that continues to afford each student the opportunity to create their unique place within, and their unique mark on, our community Capitalize on our strengths within the college and within the broader university community to provide an extraordinary student experience Provide students with individualized attention to meet their changing personal and professional academic interests

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Recruit and retain faculty, staff, and student body to enhance the diversity of the college Promote opportunities that advance student, faculty, and staff knowledge and appreciation of diversity, equity, and inclusion Develop retention programs designed to empower first generation, international, and underrepresented students

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Provide a modern curriculum that instills both technical depth and the broad foundation of liberal arts essential for lifelong growth and achievement Continuously innovate major curricula Create a culture that promotes curricular collaboration across departments Transform the classroom with the latest pedagogy and advanced tools for engineering education Enable and promote experiential learning Raise the profile of effective teaching Expand undergraduate research programs and student mentoring

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Improved on time graduation rates Undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 Reduced student faculty ratio

Increased diversity of faculty, staff, and students Measurable increase in first year retention rates Measurable increase in retention and graduation rates of first generation, international, and underrepresented students

Curricula continuously accredited Increased number of cross-department collaborative courses All undergraduates in the college of engineering participate in one or more of the following before graduation: research; study abroad; co op/internship; a student organization; outreach; mentoring others (peer advisor, tutoring, etc.)

Increased number of students graduating with honors Increased number of students who complete certificates and/or minors.

RESEARCH Strategy Maintain and enhance our leadership position on campus and beyond when confronting the grand challenges of the 21st Century

Critical Tasks • • • • • •

Support a collegiate culture in which all faculty, staff, and students advance the research mission through their pursuit of excellence

Our goals are to 1) lead the nation in select areas of research and economic development that are transformative and have global impact and 2) achieve sustainable growth in diverse graduate student enrollment.

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Identify areas of current and desired research strength for focused investment Invest in these research areas of strength by targeted faculty hiring and fostering research collaborations with Centers and Institutes Actively coordinate writing proposals for larger, multidisciplinary research grants in identified research areas Increase number of research and graduate student training proposals in targeted research areas Identify new sources of support for research programs, such as philanthropic organizations, strategic alliances with industry, etc.

Continue establishing strategic research partnerships on and off campus

Develop a mechanism for broad appreciation of disciplinary and/or inter-disciplinary research contributions from faculty, staff, and students Develop a policy for strategic and equitable distribution of faculty responsibilities to fulfill the College mission in teaching, research, and service Develop a fair metric widely accepted by the faculty and staff that properly values diverse contributions of faculty and staff to the College/University mission

Indicators of Success • • •

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Research areas of strength identified Plan developed for investing in the targeted research areas An increase in submissions of large multiinvestigator, multi-institution research proposals and graduate student training grants in targeted research areas An increase in number and size of awarded grants in targeted research areas

Increase in the number of faculty and research staff leading grant proposal preparation/ submission efforts Increase in the number of faculty and staff contributing to writing and submitting proposals Increase the overall number and sizes of research proposals submitted by faculty and research staff as PI’s, MPI’s, and co-I’s

RESEARCH Strategy Enhance the quality, size, and diversity of the graduate student body while focusing on graduate student success, visibility of their accomplishments, and research quality

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Develop best practices of recruiting and investing in the highest-quality graduate students; encourage inter-department collaborations to implement such best practices Enhance the quality and quantity of graduate student applications Identify new sources of additional graduate student support, such as philanthropic organizations, strategic alliances with industry and others, fellowships, etc.

Increase the number of graduate students, especially Ph.D. students Establish a mechanism of bridging research funds for advisors/graduate students in case of funding gaps between grants Facilitate inter-department collaboration and sharing of best practices (e.g. mentoring, enhancing URM and female student representation; full and mini-courses in common; enhancement/professional development opportunities; social and leadership opportunities; writing support systems; etc.)

Recognize and credit graduate students for their achievements

Indicators of Success • • • • • •

Evidence of shared best practices leading to improved recruitment practices New sources of graduate student support identified and active Enhance the number of Ph.D. students per TT FTE to >2.5 Increased diversity of the graduate student population, including underrepresented minorities and women Evidence of collaborative graduate student courses and sharing of best-practices across departments Evidence of processes for increased recognition of visibility of high-performing graduate students

ENGAGEMENT Strategy Enhance visibility and increase access to CoE expertise

Critical Tasks • • • • • • • •

Pursue opportunities for high-value engagement through teaching and scholarship

Our goals are to enhance the visibility of the College, increase activities related to engaged teaching and scholarship, and catalyze economic development locally, statewide, nationally and internationally.

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Indicators of Success

Develop strategic communication to inform Iowans, including legislative stakeholders, about CoE’s strengths, value, and excellence Provide training for faculty and staff to work with media and news organizations to explain the impact of COE research and innovation Develop a COE brand, voice, and identity Continue to increase COE’s social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Partner with the Office of Strategic Communication to help disseminate stories about college research, awards, and events Increase the number of faculty members nominated for high-level awards and national academies Utilize a range of communication platforms to spread COE messages – print (Iowa Engineer, College Viewbook), digital, and social media Leverage stories of successful alumni to increase COE national and international visibility and impact, especially across industry and government agencies

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Incentivize and recognize faculty and staff participation in engagement Create internally or externally funded partnerships in several Iowa counties Partner with the UI Office of Outreach and Engagement to teach faculty and staff how to better engage the public at local, state, national and global contexts

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More than 60% of funded projects earning media attention in their project lifetime 10% annual increase in social media follower across all channels Place three to five COE news stories in Iowa news outlets each month Host two to three alumni events annually (outside of Iowa City) with attendance of 30 or more alumni Produce three to five high level award/ academy nominations each year

Three to five courses each year with community engagement integrated into the course content One to two research publications each year in the area of engagement Increase in number of faculty and staff participating in workshops on engaged teaching and scholarship

ENGAGEMENT Strategy Engage with Iowa and the world to broaden professional education and catalyze economic development

Critical Tasks • • • • •

Expand certificate and degree programs available beyond the main UI campus Create new opportunities for professional education of engineering and informatics workforce based on industrial partnerships Broaden impact throughout the University, establish relationships with academic and industrial partners in Iowa and worldwide Support entrepreneurial education, new venture creation, technology transfer, and innovation Motivate faculty, staff, and students to collaborate with partners to solve societal, technical, and business problems

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Sustain a new MSEIT (Master of Science in Engineering and Information Technology) degree program Increase the number of faculty, staff, and companies participating in the college’s AI program Increase percentage of faculty and staff having formal collaborations with industry Increase percentage of faculty, research staff, and Ph.D. students submitting intellectual property disclosures and earning patents Increase numbers of industry-funded research partnerships and projects

ADVANCEMENT Strategy Develop a culture of advancement throughout the College

Critical Tasks • • •

Enhance alumni relations

Our goal is to develop a culture of giving throughout the College to meet the aspirational programmatic needs of faculty, staff and students.

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Indicators of Success

Develop vision and advancement priorities for each department/center in alignment with those of the College Have all DEOs and center directors attend advancement training and have regular meetings with development officers Educate faculty, staff and student organizations on advancement processes and how they can be helpful

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Engage alumni through the University, College and Department events – Homecoming events, tailgates, alumni receptions, etc.

Engage alumni through volunteer activities – mentoring or students, local host of alumni events

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Development of vision and advancement priorities Majority of DEOs and center directors participating in training and meetings Majority of faculty, staff and student organizations participating in discussions and information sessions with development officers

Data tracking alumni engagement through events Data tracking alumni engagement through volunteer efforts

Engage collegiate, departmental and center advisory boards

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Discuss initiatives and develop strategies with board members towards enhanced external relations and fundraising activities

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Number of advancement activities and initiatives supported by collegiate, departmental, and center advisory boards

Enhance corporate partnerships

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Develop talent hiring pipelines for local and national companies and businesses Develop corporate philanthropy Collaborate on research, technology transfer, and economic development

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Assessment of trends in placement data – jobs, co-ops, and internships Number of philanthropic collaborations and donations from industrial partners

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STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEES Research

Engagement

Michelle Scherer and Er-Wei Bai (co-Chairs)

Craig Just and Guadalupe Canahuate (co-Chairs)

Charlie Stanier (EFC)

William Easton

Kim Farrell

Jennifer Fiegel

Hans Johnson

Sarah Vigmostad

Daniel McGehee

Jackie Stolze

Edward Sander

Becca Whitaker

Keri Hornbuckle

Kandace Munson

Danny Tang

Tracy Peterson

H.S. Udaykumar

Luka Zdilar, student

Josh Tosado, student

Tonya Peeples (ex officio)

Milan Sonka (ex officio) Karim Abdel-Malek (ex officio) Gabriele Villarini (ex officio)

Advancement Allan Guymon and Ching-Long Lin (co-Chairs)

Student Success Joe Reinhardt and Geb Thomas (co-Chairs) Anton Kruger (EFC) Allan Bradley John Kostman Eric Nuxoll Anat Levtov Angela Olvera, student Nicole Grosland (ex officio)

Wendy Brentner Greg Carmichael K.K. Choi David Cwiertny Eric Paterson (CoE Advisory Board) Suresh Ragnavan Tom Schnell Elizabeth Simpson Fatima Toor Larry Weber (ex officio)

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