Opening the door to Ethos

This fall the School of Engineering hosted an open house to inform faculty and staff from across the University about changes to come to the Ethos Center that will prioritize student success while also benefiting students beyond engineering.

Ethos began in 2001 as a semester-long international immersion program piloted by UD students to create a connection between community needs and engineering solutions. During the past two decades, Ethos has expanded into domestic and local immersions, created short-term breakouts, launched a community-engaged engineering course and created a research and development program.

Today, Ethos functions as its own center on campus to enhance the UD engineering experience through developing, promoting and sustaining community-engaged partnerships. The Ethos Center’s partners range from a sustainable agriculture nonprofit in Vermont to a women’s health nongovernmental organization in rural Kenya. 

The center’s fall open house welcomed visitors to Kettering Labs room 505, where posters covered the walls. It wasn’t an interior design choice but an interactive activity during which visitors could anonymously respond to the poster prompts. Guests scrawled onto colorful sticky note personal Ethos stories and feedback on the proposed new vision for the Center. Overwhelmingly positive, many notes highlighted the value of problem solving through multiple cultural perspectives

“Ethos has helped form global citizenship among students and provides impactful opportunities for experiential learning.”

Starting with the fall 2025 entering class, students from every major will have access to a holistic academic advisor and high-impact experiential learning opportunities as part of UD’s new student success initiatives to fulfill the promise of a distinctive UD education for every student.

“Developing deeper collaborations with our campus partners and meaningfully integrating into the core engineering curriculum are natural next steps for the Ethos Center,” said Scott Schneider ’96, the interim director of the Ethos Center. “This action not only aligns with campuswide initiatives but also enhances the impact Ethos is able to make for both our students and community partners.” 

To align with Universitywide initiatives, the School of Engineering plans to redefine the Ethos Center’s vision to focus on: 

• Cross-disciplinary experiences through partnership with existing centers and programs on campus.
• Increasing student accessibility by incorporating Ethos into the existing curriculum and offering opportunities across all four years.  
• Partners and scalable projects that are easily expanded to different communities and rooted in human rights, sustainability and social justice.
• Creating financial sustainability, increasing impact, not resources.

The Ethos Center asked faculty and staff members for suggestions on meaningful ways the School of Engineering can collaborate across campus. They suggested interdisciplinary undergraduate research and immersions through partnerships with other centers such as the Center for Social Concern and the Human Rights Center. 

“Staying connected and in conversation with other community-engaged centers can increase coordination, support and assessment,” wrote one respondent.  

Such suggestions will expand the impact of Ethos while putting Flyers on a path of sustainable success toward the common good.  

Photos courtesy of Ethos Center.