Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byAnnabelle Melton Modified over 6 years ago
1
Chemical and Biomedical Engineering “The Way Forward”
Richard Turton
2
Who is this New Chair Anyway?
Born in London, BSc at Nottingham University Came to US in 1977 (MS, PhD Oregon State) 4 years industrial experience with Pullman-Kellogg, Fluor E&C, Shell Oil. Joined WVU in 1986 (hired by Joe Henry) Taught Senior Design Class for 28 years and most other u/g courses Textbook author, researcher, teacher, student mentor, past Faculty Senate Chair and member of Board of Governors
3
What is my Philosophy? Thus we have an obligation to
“I believe that the sole purpose of the (our) university is to educate people” Thus we have an obligation to Teach and educate undergraduates formal classroom teaching professional mentorship research experience guidance and counseling career development instill a sense of pride in being a ChE or BMEG 1. Teaching undergraduates takes on many different forms – formal classroom teaching, professional mentorship, research experience, guidance and counseling, career development, and instilling a sense of pride in being a ChE or BMEG 2. For many of us this is the “passion” of why we are academics – we have probably been inspired by our mentors and we try to follow their example – however, in the “real world” there are many other
4
What is my Philosophy? “I believe that the sole purpose of the (our) university is to educate people” Teach and educate graduate students Often the passion that makes us academics Inspire our students as we were inspired by our own mentors Provide support for graduate research Obtain research funding (“cash or crash”) - time consuming and frustrating Grant management – budgets, deliverables, professional meetings, thesis/dissertation propositions and defenses, writing peer-reviewed journal papers (“publish or perish”), attending and organizing professional society meetings, visiting sponsors, coaching students, writing book chapters/research monographs, etc. 1. Teaching undergraduates takes on many different forms – formal classroom teaching, professional mentorship, research experience, guidance and counseling, career development, and instilling a sense of pride in being a ChE or BMEG 2. For many of us this is the “passion” of why we are academics – we have probably been inspired by our mentors and we try to follow their example – however, in the “real world” there are many other
5
What is my Philosophy? “I believe that the sole purpose of the (our) university is to educate people” Teach and educate each other Mentor younger faculty (senior mid-career and junior post docs and adjuncts students) Take leadership positions that help the Department Actively participate in the Department Work with support staff to improve department operations 1. Teaching undergraduates takes on many different forms – formal classroom teaching, professional mentorship, research experience, guidance and counseling, career development, and instilling a sense of pride in being a ChE or BMEG 2. For many of us this is the “passion” of why we are academics – we have probably been inspired by our mentors and we try to follow their example – however, in the “real world” there are many other
6
Recent changes and what we can expect over the next 3-5 years
Hired several new faculty – BMEG (Bennewitz, Allen, Wang) Retirement of several senior faculty – ChE [by 2022 there will probably be no one in ChE who was on the faculty in 2012 (Hissam, Dinu, Bhattacharyya)] Initiated a new MS and PhD program in BMEG - faulty time teaching classes Hiring of new Tenure Track ChE faculty – replace retirements – start-up inefficiency Research expectations continue to rise – papers/students/$ Undergraduate expectations continue to rise – faculty time out of class State funding will not increase and will likely decrease – competitive hiring Management of Change
7
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Strengths Collegiality, shared view of the importance of our mission, willingness to work together, talent Weaknesses Research productivity is “spotty” and research funding more competitive, higher teaching loads and large classes than 10 years ago Opportunities BOG rules have now changed to allow a higher proportion of teaching faculty (10 to 15%) Continued success and growth in HSC can help BMEG (and ChE) research Threats Continued decrease in state funding and governmental agencies
8
“The Way Forward” The way we have done things in the past is no longer the best approach – teacher/scholar model (40/40/20 – T/R/S) Reward folks for doing what they do best and want to do – realign work loads to reflect this but expectations in “areas of expertise” must go up Hire a new TAP to help unload research faculty from some teaching burden “Tax” research grants to help fund teaching positions Develop scholarships for graduate student support Mentor younger faculty to take leadership roles and ownership in the department
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.