COE Strategic Plan: 2023-2033

STRATEGIC PLAN 2023 – 2033

Dear Friends, It’s such an important time to be an engineer. With the speed of change in our field, education is critically important to train the next generation of students and generate new knowledge.

It has been with this in mind that our community of faculty, staff, students, University administrators and alumni have come together to develop our 2023-2033 Strategic Plan for the College of Engineering. I offer my sincere thanks to all who have participated in this process.

This plan will serve as our roadmap to help guide resources and focus for the next decade. Inspired by the objectives outlined in Villanova’s Strategic Plan, Rooted. Restless., the College identified areas of strength and opportunities for growth—avenues to further our commitment to igniting change for the greater good.

After a year’s worth of discussions across the entire Villanova Engineering community, three themes emerged as key areas of focus: Teaching & Learning; Research & Innovation; and Lifelong Learning & Professional Development. At the heart of these areas was one overarching theme: Culture & Climate. The pages that follow provide an overview of each theme’s objectives and a selection of goals to help make Villanova Engineering an even stronger college and community.

This Strategic Plan isn’t just ours, it’s yours—whether you’re a student or parent, faculty or staff member, alum, new friend or longtime supporter. The entire Villanova Engineering community will play a role in achieving our goals. Together, we’ll write the next chapter of the College of Engineering.

Our Strategic Plan will serve as a starting point to keep us focused on our objectives, but like the College itself, it is likely to grow and change over time. We’ll provide regular updates on our progress at engineering.villanova.edu.

St. Augustine encouraged us to “always add some more, always keep on walking, always forge ahead.” I look forward to working with you as we shape the future of the College. As always, thank you for your support of Villanova Engineering.

Very best,

Michele Marcolongo, PhD, PE Drosdick Endowed Dean of Engineering Professor of Mechanical Engineering

ROOTED. RESTLESS. The College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan was guided by Rooted. Restless., Villanova University’s Strategic Plan for 2020-2030. This ambitious 10-year effort was designed to propel the University forward to a new level of success, by reaching higher in how we serve our students, our community and the world. Rooted in our Augustinian Catholic values and restless in our desire to ignite change, it is a uniquely Villanovan plan driven by our community’s shared vision for the future: to remain true to what makes our University special while becoming an even greater Villanova.

Under the Rooted. Restless. plan, Villanova as an institution will build upon its strengths; invest in critical areas of opportunity; and enhance the Villanova experience for our entire community, including undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and law students, as well as faculty, staff and alumni. Learn more about Villanova’s Strategic Plan at villanova.edu/RootedRestless.

College of Engineering Mission

Strategic Plan Vision

With passion, curiosity, engagement and vision, Villanova Engineers become society’s future innovators and technical leaders, committed to serving the greater good and solving complex global challenges by following habits of the heart and mind.

To connect the College of Engineering through our Villanova values to deepen our educational experience, to grow scholarship,

By delivering a rigorous engineering education that teaches

and to support the culture of our

students to solve problems, think creatively and work

community and lifelong learning.

collaboratively, a Villanova Engineering degree—bachelor’s to PhD—will prepare our engineers to be successful in any career.

Functional Areas

A Collaborative Process The creation of this Strategic Plan was a collaborative effort that included voices from

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

GRADUATE EDUCATION

more than 140 individuals from across the College community, including faculty, staff, administrators, undergraduate and graduate students, and alumni.

Discussions facilitated over the course of 12 months helped to inform the direction of the plan, with key themes emerging surrounding growth, inclusion,

RESEARCH

COE

equitability and sustainability—notably, that every

COMMUNITY & DIVERSITY

Villanova Engineer will be a Sustainable Engineer.

Throughout the process, the College remained guided by Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic values of Veritas, Unitas and Caritas, as well as by the goals and ideals identified in the University’s

FACULTY & STAFF

Rooted. Restless. Strategic Plan.

Every Villanova Engineer will be a Sustainable Engineer

Strategic StrategicThemes Themes CULTURE CULTURE&&CLIMATE CLIMATE

Strengthen Strengthenand andsustain sustaina adiverse diverseand andinclusive inclusivecomm comm learners, learners,educators educatorsand andstaff staffgrounded groundedininVillanova's Villanova's values, values,which whichserves servesasasthe thefoundation foundationthat thatallallpillars pillar strategic strategicplan planare arebuilt builtupon. upon.

TEACHING TEACHING&&LEARNING LEARNING

CULTURE CULTURE && CLIMATE CLIMATE

Support Supportworld-class world-classengineering engineeringeducation educationthat thattrains trai sustainability-driven sustainability-drivenengineers engineersequipped equippedtotocreate createop o and andsolve solvecomplex complexglobal globalchallenges challengesfor forthe thegreater greaterg

RESEARCH RESEARCH&&INNOVATION INNOVATION

Become Becomea aleader leaderamong amongengineering engineeringschools schoolsatatR2 R2in known knownfor fordriving drivinginnovation innovationand andgrowth growthininengineeri enginee common commongood. good.

LIFELONG LIFELONGLEARNING LEARNING&& PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT

Create Createananethos ethosofoflearning learningthat thatprepares preparesallallstudents, student staff stafffor fortheir theircareers careersand andcontinue continuetotoserve serveasasa alifelon lifelo for forprofessional professionaland andeducational educationalgrowth. growth.

OVERARCHING GOALS Every Villanova Engineer will be a Sustainable Engineer.

Investigate the founding of a Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Form educational and research partnerships with global universities.

Create a COE career and professional development center.

Explore a multidisciplinary organization on sustainable environmental research and scholarship.

Empower a culture of inclusive and equitable collaboration.

Culture & Climate Strengthen and sustain a diverse and inclusive community of learners, educators and staff grounded in Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic values, which serves as the foundation that all pillars of the Strategic Plan are built upon.

When we come together as a community, Villanova’s values truly shine. By placing Culture & Climate at the heart of our Strategic Plan, we acknowledge the importance of care and inclusion in all that the College of Engineering does. Through new initiatives focused on well-being, diversity and outreach, we’ll deepen our commitment to Veritas, Unitas, Caritas—and to one another.

Objectives

Select Goals

• Empower and support diverse student, faculty

of 9 total for Culture & Climate

and staff populations.

• Support and increase community outreach.

• Establish leadership and communicate excellence around the research and education innovation achievements of the College.

• Increase awareness of and access to mental health and physical wellness resources in combination with University programming.

• Identify and launch 1-2 new summer programs to serve as pipeline programs to the College; conduct fundraising to build sustained financial aid funding supporting underrepresented students in new programs.

• Form an Engineering Education Committee to establish targeted priorities for growing a College focus on engineering education research.

Teaching & Learning Support world-class engineering education that trains sustainability-driven engineers equipped to create opportunities and solve complex global challenges for the greater good.

The College of Engineering has long prided itself on its rigorous education, which prepares students to make meaningful change in the world. The Strategic Plan builds upon our successful teacher-scholar model with plans to increase opportunities for fellowships and research, expand our graduate student population, support faculty and explore new areas of study.

Objectives

Select Goals

• Develop structures to support growth and

of 18 total for Teaching & Learning

sustainability of teacher-scholar model.

• Enhance student learning opportunities in emerging areas of study.

• Increase graduate enrollment.

• Increase number of fellowships awarded to College of Engineering faculty and the number of faculty fellows hosted by the College.

• Explore addition of a Biomedical Engineering Department with undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees.

• Double part-time graduate enrollment in five years.

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Research & Innovation Become a leader among engineering schools at R2 institutions known for driving innovation and growth in engineering for the common good.

Our faculty members in the College of Engineering are among the brightest minds in the field, pursuing groundbreaking research and innovations that better the world we live in. As we continue to grow as a research institution, we’ll pursue opportunities to lead by example, by forming new partnerships within higher education and industry, and supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of faculty and students.

Objectives

Select Goals

• Create new research partnerships and

of 8 total for Research & Innovation

opportunities.

• Develop a University institute and

• Identify a global university partnership for further pursuit to create a model of research and intellectual

engineering education center, and

exchange, such as graduate student exchange

support research.

programs and joint degree programs.

• Increase College participation in innovation and translation of research ideas toward commercialization.

• Develop an educational plan for faculty and graduate students in innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Establish an organization to support University efforts in a sustainability-aligned field, an engineering education center, and a center in sports and performance engineering.

Lifelong Learning & Professional Development Create an ethos of learning that prepares all students, faculty, staff and alumni for their careers, and continue to serve as a lifelong resource for professional and educational growth.

St. Augustine called education “the food of youth, the delight of old age … and the provocation to grace in the soul.” Our education doesn’t end when we leave college—in many ways, it has just begun. To better support learners at every phase of life, the College of Engineering will expand its efforts in career development and continuing education, with new opportunities for graduate students, alumni, faculty and staff, in addition to undergraduates.

Objectives

Select Goals

• Create a named center for engineering

of 9 total for Lifelong Learning &

careers and promote professional development.

• Expand offerings for faculty and staff lifelong learning and professional development.

Professional Development • Allocate staff members to support career placement and professional development for College of Engineering alumni.

• Expand professional development support and curricula to graduate students, including DEI education, community building, international student support and doctoral student recruiting.

• Establish faculty/staff mentoring program to improve belonging and ease onboarding.

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