Dear Colleagues,
Fall semester is underway!
It was great to see everyone at our Town Hall and VCEA Inside Scoop last month. It was a terrific way to connect with old colleagues and new, and kick-off the school year.
As I’ve walked around campus the past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed seeing the hallways and classrooms continue to buzz with activity and excitement, and it fills me with gratitude knowing that I can witness the tremendous amount of learning that is happening between students, faculty, and staff of this college.
I want to thank everyone who attended VCEA Day last month. Nearly 200 faculty, staff, and graduate students took time out of their busy schedule to come together on the Pullman campus to learn about and provide feedback on the strategic initiatives the college is undertaking to improve the areas of Student Success and Belonging, Research, Creativity, and Engagement, Employee Development, Wellness, and Culture, and Infrastructure.
The feedback we received about the event was overwhelmingly positive, and we are looking for more ways we can collaborate and celebrate together as a college in the future.
As always, your input and participation are invaluable to the process of improving the outcomes we aspire to attain. The strategic planning committees are currently incorporating the feedback they received from you into their planning, and you will receive invitations to learn more about the strategic initiatives they have planned and how you can continue to be involved in the coming weeks.
As your interim dean, I continually seek out opportunities to engage with each of you to discuss the important matters facing both you, your school/department, and the college. I will be regularly visiting each unit, including the following visits in the coming weeks:
- Oct. 14: School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Oct. 15: School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
- Oct. 18: WSU Bremerton
- Oct. 21: School of Design and Construction
- Nov. 8: Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
If these meetings are not on your calendar, please contact your unit leader for the meeting details.
I invite each of you to the college-wide meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 4 PM in Carpenter Hall Room 102 with WSU Provost Riley-Tillman. This meeting will provide the provost with a unique opportunity to engage with you and develop a foundation of knowledge about Voiland College. If you are unable to attend in person, please join via Zoom.
Lastly, as fall semester continues to ramp up, I encourage each of you to take care of yourselves and those around you. The university offers a suite of employee wellness programs aimed to support your wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of our students. Please do not hesitate to make wellbeing a priority.
As always, I continue to be in awe of the amazing things that are happening throughout our college. Each day, I take inspiration in the work each of you are doing to transform the lives of our students and our community.
Thank you.
Partha Pratim Pande, FIEEE
Interim Dean and Professor
Boeing Centennial Chair in Computer Engineering
Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Washington State University
Office: 509-335-5593
Email: pande@wsu.edu