We have had another incredible year, beginning with our transformation from a School under the Lutgert College of Business to the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering (WCE).  We have grown from having four employees in fall 2005 to having 18 faculty, the academic advisor, and three support staff for a total of 22 (shown above) during the 2011-2012 academic year.  We also hired two excellent adjunct faculty this year but continue to have over 96% of our classes taught by full-time WCE faculty.  In 2005, we started with approximately 100 first year students in three degree programs and have grown to nearly 700 students in five degree programs (with the B.S. in Computer Science being phased out by 2014 and the B.S. in Software Engineering replacing it and having its first graduates in May 2015).

 The WCE faculty have had a productive year in terms of scholarship, publishing 12 peer-reviewed journal papers, two book chapters, and 17 refereed conference papers.  They have been awarded 10 internal and external grants and contracts totaling approximately $250,000.  Dr. Tanya Kunberger (Civil Engineering) received the American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Section’s Outstanding Teaching Award.  (She received their Outstanding New Teacher Award in 2010.)  Dr. Bob O’Neill (Civil Engineering) passed the California Civil Exams and is now registered as a Professional Engineer in California as well as Virginia, Nevada, and Florida.  Dr. Janusz Zalewski (Computer Science/Software Engineering) is hosting a workshop on robotics for middle and high school teachers this month, and Drs. Kristy Csavina (Bioengineering), Lisa Zidek (Bioengineering), and Tanya Kunberger will host the WCE’s First Engineering Extravaganza Summer Challenge, a 5-day residential camp in early June for high school juniors and seniors residing in rural central Florida. 

Ms. Jenna Martin, one of our first engineering graduates (B.S.Env.E., 2009), became the first WCE graduate to be inducted into the Soaring Eagles Society by the FGCU Alumni Association, Dustin Chisum (B.S.Env.E., 2012) became the second WCE student to receive the FGCU Undergraduate Student of the Year Award (Jenna Martin was the first), and Steven Binninger (B.S. in Bioengineering, 2012) became the first FGCU athlete (tennis) and second WCE student to be inducted into the FGCU Hall of Fame.  Finally, Rachelle Yusutbekov (B.S. in Bioengineering, Class of 2013) was awarded the first FGCU Undergraduate Student Research in Sustainability Award.  Congratulations, Jenna, Dustin, Steven, and Rachelle!

I will be retiring in June after spending more than seven years at FGCU, where I had the privilege of leading the development of engineering at this wonderful, forward-thinking university.  Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to launch engineering at a university.  Many, many people contributed their time and resources to help the WCE succeed.  I want to take this opportunity, my last Dean’s Message, to thank all of the companies and individuals from Southwest Florida and beyond who supported and continue to support the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering.  I also want to thank the faculty and staff of the WCE – they did all of the really hard work – as well as the people of FGCU at every level.  What an adventure we have had!