An Integrative Education in Engineering and the Liberal Arts: An Institutional Case Study

Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt; Jenn Stroud Rossmann

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Conference: 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Tampa, Florida
Publication Date: June 15, 2019
Start Date: June 15, 2019
End Date: June 19, 2019
Conference Session: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division Technical Session 4
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 19
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--32071
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/32071
Download Count: 890

Paper Authors

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Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt P.E. Lafayette College orcid.org/0000-0001-7115-0119

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Dr. Kristen Sanford Bernhardt is chair of the Engineering Studies program and associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lafayette College. Her expertise is in sustainable civil infrastructure management and transportation systems. She teaches a variety of courses including engineering economics, sustainability of built systems, transportation systems, transportation planning, civil infrastructure management, and Lafayette’s introductory first year engineering course. Dr. Sanford Bernhardt serves on the Transportation Research Board Committee on Education and Training. She previously has served on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Committees on Education and Faculty Development, and Task Committee on the 3rd Edition of the CIvil Engineering Body of Knowledge (BOK3); vice-chair of the ASCE Infrastructure Systems Committee, chair of the ASEE’s Civil Engineering Division, and a member of the Transportation Research Board committees on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing, Asset Management, and Emerging Technology for Design and Construction. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, and her B.S.E. from Duke University.

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Jenn Stroud Rossmann Lafayette College

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Jenn Stroud Rossmann is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Lafayette College. She earned her BS in mechanical engineering and her PhD in applied physics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining Lafayette, she was a faculty member at Harvey Mudd College. Her scholarly interests include the fluid dynamics of blood in vessels affected by atherosclerosis and aneurysm, the cultural history of engineering, and the aerodynamics of sports projectiles. She writes the essay series "An engineer reads a novel" for Public Books.

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Abstract

Over the last two decades, those who philosophize about the role of engineering and engineers in society have promoted a vision of engineers that goes well beyond the traditional typecasting as technical problem solvers and designers. For example, the National Academy of Engineering envisions engineers who “will remain well grounded in the basics of mathematics and science, and who will expand their vision of design through a solid grounding in the humanities, social sciences, and economics” and who will “rapidly embrace the potentialities offered by creativity, invention, and cross-disciplinary fertilization to create and accommodate new fields of endeavor, including those that require openness to interdisciplinary efforts with nonengineering disciplines such as science, social science, and business” (NAE 2004). The American Society of Civil Engineers suggests that “civil engineers will serve as master builders, environmental stewards, innovators and integrators, managers of risk and uncertainty, and leaders in shaping public policy” (ASCE 2007). These visions recognize that the challenges facing society today are inherently socio-technical and require collaborative, interdisciplinary solutions – solutions that can be driven by professionals who have solid grounding in engineering and the liberal arts.

We will describe the nearly 50 year history of a unique degree program in Engineering Studies. The program was created at our College in 1970 with the goal of producing graduates who could bridge the gap between engineering and the liberal arts; its current mission is to engage students in engineering as a liberal art, recognizing the increasingly complex challenges of engineering in the larger framework of socio-technical systems and examining these systems through multi-disciplinary perspectives. The program helps students gain expertise in examining the place of engineering and technology in society, with interdisciplinary skills to lead public technology debates around issues related to policy, management, economics, and the environment. In this paper, we will describe the evolution of the program’s mission and curriculum, in the context of higher education trends as well as societal and historical movements; the various challenges faced by the program; and the assessment and evaluation of the program’s success, opportunities, and impact. Our program may provide a useful case study in achieving the interdisciplinary, sociotechnical goals articulated by the NAE and others, and in broadening participation in engineering education. We will consider both the transferability of our approach to other institutional contexts, and its sustainability in our own.

References American Society of Civil Engineers. (2007). The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025. American Society of Civil Engineers: Reston, VA. National Academy of Engineering (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. The National Academies Press: Washington, D.C.

Citation
Format

Sanford Bernhardt, K. L., & Rossmann, J. S. (2019, June), An Integrative Education in Engineering and the Liberal Arts: An Institutional Case Study Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32071

TY - CPAPER
AB - Over the last two decades, those who philosophize about the role of engineering and engineers in society have promoted a vision of engineers that goes well beyond the traditional typecasting as technical problem solvers and designers. For example, the National Academy of Engineering envisions engineers who “will remain well grounded in the basics of mathematics and science, and who will expand their vision of design through a solid grounding in the humanities, social sciences, and economics” and who will “rapidly embrace the potentialities offered by creativity, invention, and cross-disciplinary fertilization to create and accommodate new fields of endeavor, including those that require openness to interdisciplinary efforts with nonengineering disciplines such as science, social science, and business” (NAE 2004). The American Society of Civil Engineers suggests that “civil engineers will serve as master builders, environmental stewards, innovators and integrators, managers of risk and uncertainty, and leaders in shaping public policy” (ASCE 2007). These visions recognize that the challenges facing society today are inherently socio-technical and require collaborative, interdisciplinary solutions – solutions that can be driven by professionals who have solid grounding in engineering and the liberal arts.

We will describe the nearly 50 year history of a unique degree program in Engineering Studies. The program was created at our College in 1970 with the goal of producing graduates who could bridge the gap between engineering and the liberal arts; its current mission is to engage students in engineering as a liberal art, recognizing the increasingly complex challenges of engineering in the larger framework of socio-technical systems and examining these systems through multi-disciplinary perspectives. The program helps students gain expertise in examining the place of engineering and technology in society, with interdisciplinary skills to lead public technology debates around issues related to policy, management, economics, and the environment.

In this paper, we will describe the evolution of the program’s mission and curriculum, in the context of higher education trends as well as societal and historical movements; the various challenges faced by the program; and the assessment and evaluation of the program’s success, opportunities, and impact. Our program may provide a useful case study in achieving the interdisciplinary, sociotechnical goals articulated by the NAE and others, and in broadening participation in engineering education. We will consider both the transferability of our approach to other institutional contexts, and its sustainability in our own.

References
American Society of Civil Engineers. (2007). The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025. American Society of Civil Engineers: Reston, VA.
National Academy of Engineering (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. The National Academies Press: Washington, D.C.

AU - Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt P.E.
AU - Jenn Stroud Rossmann
CY - Tampa, Florida
DA - 2019/06/15
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - An Integrative Education in Engineering and the Liberal Arts: An Institutional Case Study
UR - https://peer.asee.org/32071
DO - 10.18260/1-2--32071
ER -