June 21, 2002

University's Wealth Lies in Students, Faculty

GUEST COLUMN from NC State University’s Bulletin
By Dr. Nino A. Masnari, Dean of the College of Engineering

Dr. Masnari

With the budget crisis ever-present on everyone's mind, it is hard to focus on much else. In difficult times like these, when one issue looms so large that it overshadows others, it is important that we not lose sight of the elements that sustain our university and that are crucial to our future success. One way to do that is to look at recent accomplishments and activities to remind ourselves what matters most -- the education of our students, and the people and programs that exist to help guide those students in their educational and personal growth.

Perhaps the most influential factor in the success of our students is our faculty. We are fortunate to have faculty members who are highly effective classroom teachers and advisors with genuine interest in their students and enthusiasm about the subject. The impression faculty make on their students affects them throughout their lives.

Our faculty and staff members make important contributions every day, both in and out of the classroom. One of the measures of achievement among our younger faculty is an honor the National Science Foundation bestows: the Faculty Early Career Development (Career) Award. Top engineering schools are jubilant when their faculty receive even two or three Career awards in a single year. We feel honored that our faculty received 13 Career awards in the past year alone. In addition, the prestigious NSF PECASE award was recently given to Veena Misra.

Other faculty accomplishments include Don Bitzer's designation as a National Associate by the National Academies and Orlin Velev's prestigious Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award. Rich Spontak and colleagues had an article published in Science magazine recently, and Tony Mitchell, director of Minority Engineering Programs, and the students in his programs were honored when the college was recognized, for the second year in a row, for having 50 percent or more of our minority freshman students with a fall grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Our faculty and staff also bring honor to this university as they involve themselves in service projects that reach across the community and across the globe. Faculty member Christine Grant, for example, led a project to upgrade facilities and resources for students in Ghana, West Africa, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The Ghanaian students named a library in her honor for her contributions.

Our students, as well, continually impress us with their efforts in community service, even while carrying a full course load. Service Raleigh is just one of the many organizations that NC State students volunteer in, and this year more than 150 from engineering participated. Each year our engineering students and advisors participate in a unique mentoring program called FIRST (For Interpretation and Recognition of Science and Technology) at Southeast Raleigh High School. Through this program, high school students get a look at the engineering profession by constructing robots and competing against other teams, and NC State students get a chance to serve as mentors and teachers.

Our students volunteer in many other ways, including serving as hosts in "Spend-a-Day-in-Engineering" sessions and Engineering Open House, participating in Engineers' Week (E-Week) activities and Senior Design Day, or taking time to represent the College of Engineering at receptions held across the state. This year our student volunteers organized their most successful Engineering Career Fair.

Every day our faculty conduct research that makes a positive contribution to the benefit of people and the environment, such as Civil Engineering's programs in safety training for Hispanic construction workers or finding ways to clean up toxins in groundwater; the NC Solar Center's Million Solar Roofs initiative, which helps communities explore energy alternatives; Industrial Engineering's work in helping pilots become better aware of changing aircraft conditions; students and instructors in Furniture Manufacturing developing ways to help reduce workers' injuries; Aerospace Engineering students working on designs that NASA may use in future Mars exploration; and Industrial Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering working collaboratively with Wood and Paper Science on projects benefitting North Carolina's furniture industry. These projects offer just a glimpse of the many examples of dedication by our faculty, staff and students.

Facing the fiscal future is daunting, but in so doing, it is important to stop and recount our wealth in other forms. Our wealth lies in our students and in the faculty, staff and programs that support those students in their educational endeavors.

© 2002 NC State University
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