I would like to start by telling you all, “Thank You!”
I know this has been one of our busiest years in a very long time. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all your efforts through this challenging year of growth, even while you have continued your daily work of research, scholarship, outreach, and helping our students succeed.
I am pleased to announce that John Schneider, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has accepted the position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Student Services in CEA, effective January 1, 2014.
As you no doubt are aware, WSU will be implementing a salary increase program for faculty, administrative professional staff, and graduate students, to be effective January 1, 2014. Details on the WSU program are available on the Budget Office website.
As you all are aware, our ABET accreditation visit was completed yesterday. While there are still a few issues that we must address before the accreditation cycle is completed next summer and final accreditation decisions are made, I can tell you that the initial report is very good. The program evaluators were very complimentary of our programs, citing numerous strengths, including senior design projects with tight industry involvement and entrepreneurial components, many experiential opportunities for our students, knowledgeable faculty with good morale, excellent students with positive impressions about the faculty and the department, and strong technical support staff.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already August and that we’re once again starting another school year. I would like to thank you for all your hard work last year and hope you have had a chance to catch your breath this summer.
As you know, we’re seeing a great deal of exciting change in the college as we significantly expand our programs.
As 2012 comes to a close, I would like to share with you some of this year’s successes in the College and tell you about developments that you can expect in the coming year as we continue to grow and strengthen our programs.
Welcome back! It’s nice to see renewed fall activity and our many enthusiastic new and returning students, faculty, and staff. I am looking forward to sharing an exciting year with you as we move forward with dramatic growth in our programs. In this letter, I want to update you on the following developments for which much activity occurred over the summer.