Alumni and Friends Making an Impact
Transforming the Engineering Student Experience
As the engineering industry rapidly evolves, there is a constant flow of new ideas into the School of Engineering to ensure students graduate prepared to immediately make an impact in the workforce.
The dean’s cabinet, a working group of faculty and staff leading initiatives aligned with the School’s strategic vision, are working hard to make those ideas a reality. The cabinet collaborates closely with the dean, representing each department as well as the student body.
Thanks to generous support from donors who gave to the School of Engineering’s Dean’s Fund for Excellence during One Day, One Dayton — UD’s annual day of giving — the cabinet is leading the Accelerating Curriculum Transformation Competitive Grant Program. ACT allows faculty, staff and students to submit proposals for projects designed to innovate the engineering curriculum, ensuring the high value of a UD engineering degree.
“We owe it to our students to remain adaptable and grow with engineering as new technology and skills are needed for the workforce,” shared Meredith Troxel, director of communications. “The projects that we can now fund will make a huge impact on students, improving their curriculum, experiential learning and research opportunities.”
This academic year, 13 proposals have been submitted through the ACT program, with five ultimately selected for funding.
The priorities of the five funded projects include providing students with new options for majors and minors, amplifying the school’s recruitment efforts for future incoming classes, providing new lab spaces for in-demand industry skills and providing funding for student organizations to participate in competitions.
Among the five projects, a total of 27 School of Engineering community members will move their respective projects forward, including faculty, staff and students — and it is made possible through the support of donors.
“This level of innovation wouldn’t be possible without the passion and loyalty that our donors have for the School,” said Dean Gül Kremer. “Donor support from One Day, One Dayton allows our ideas to become a reality, and truly helps us in our mission to develop engineers for the common good.”
