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Fostering Industry Engagement in the Co-curricular Aspects of an Engineering Living-Learning Program

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Conference

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Publication Date

June 10, 2012

Start Date

June 10, 2012

End Date

June 13, 2012

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations in College-Industry Partnerships

Tagged Division

College Industry Partnerships

Page Count

15

Page Numbers

25.645.1 - 25.645.15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--21402

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/21402

Download Count

348

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Paper Authors

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Thomas F. Wolff P.E. Michigan State University

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Dr. Thomas F. Wolff is Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies at Michigan State University. In this capacity, he is responsible for all activities related to student services (academic administration, advising, career planning, first-year programs, women and diversity programs, etc.) and curricular issues. He is principal investigator on several NSF grants related to retention of engineering students. As a faculty member in civil engineering, he co-teaches a large introductory course in civil engineering. His research and consulting activities have focused on the safety and reliability of hydraulic structures, and he has participated as an expert in three different capacities regarding reviews of levee performance in Hurricane Katrina. He is a three-time recipient of his college’s Withrow Award for Teaching Excellence, a recipient of the Chi Epsilon Regional Teaching Award, and a recipient of the U.S. Army Commander’s Award medal for Public Service. Since 2010, he has served on the National Council of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society, and presently serves as National Vice President of that organization.

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Carmellia Davis-King Michigan State University

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Carmellia Davis-King is the Co-curricular Director of the Engineering Residential Experience Program at Michigan State University College of Engineering. She works directly with engineering faculty in the College as well as the greater engineering community in Michigan to deliver cutting edge programs for undergraduate students. Davis-King also provides leadership to the residential professional staff and student leaders through the creation of innovative learning opportunities. She created the first ever Living and Learning Summit for Michigan Colleges and Universities in an effort to create a platform for shared best practices for student affairs practitioners. She was recently elected as a university representative for the Academic Specialist Advisory Committee. As the Co-curricular Director she is responsible for the recruitment and retention of student participants. She earned a master's of education degree in Higher, Adult, and lifelong education from Michigan State University.

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Timothy J. Hinds Michigan State University

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Timothy J. Hinds is the Academic Director of the Michigan State University College of Engineering Cornerstone Engineering program and a Senior Academic Specialist in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Undergraduate Studies. His current teaching responsibilities include first-year courses in engineering design and modeling. He has also taught courses in machine design, manufacturing processes, mechanics, computational tools, and international product design as well as graduate-level courses in engineering innovation and technology management. He has nearly 30 years of combined academic and industrial management experience. He received his B.S.M.E. and M.S.M.E. degrees from Michigan Technological University.

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Daina Briedis Michigan State University

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Daina Briedis is a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University and Assistant Dean for Student Advancement and Program Assessment in the College of Engineering. Briedis has been involved in several areas of education research including student retention, curriculum redesign, and the use of technology in the classroom. She is a Co-PI on two NSF grants in the areas of integration of computation in engineering curricula and in developing comprehensive strategies to retain early engineering students. She is active nationally and internationally in engineering accreditation and is a Fellow of ABET and of the AIChE.

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Abstract

Industry Engagement in the Co-Curricular Aspects of an Engineering Living-Learning ProgramThe early engineering living-learning program at xxxx university entails both a large, hands-on,team-based curricular component, and a residential-based, co-curricular component. The latter isdesigned to provide a variety of supplemental experiences to engage students in gainingawareness of their intended profession as well as to socialize them into the professionalcommunity.A unique aspect of the residential, co-curricular component, named the xxxxxxx, is theinvolvement of industry partners. In addition to financial support, the corporate partners areassigned a theme, aligned with the Grand Challenges of Engineering as identified by theNational Academy of Engineering. The partners provide our students interaction with theirengineers and educational content around the selected theme and their company’s related efforts.They also have a physical presence in the form of a theme-lobby on a floor of the residence hallhousing a majority of our first-year students.Partners on board at the time of this writing include xxxxx, connected to the energy theme, andxxxxx, connected to the transportation theme. Engagement activities have included:  Evening presentations by the CEO of a corporate partner to our student body, particularly focused on first-year students in the residential program. A significant portion of each presentation was devoted to questions from students.  Involvement of partners and other engineering corporate contacts in our freshman “welcome day” program, providing advice for success in the first year.  Smaller, more intimate “fireside chat” presentations, with topics such as smart-grid technology.  Murals, video displays, display cases and quick response (QR) coded placards in the residence hall floor lobby, informing students of the Grand Challenge problems, partners’ related efforts, and vignettes of the work of alumni employees and current student interns.As the program grows, we expect to add additional partners and themes, and additional activitiessuch as field trips and professionals in residence.The paper will describe the goals, planning, evolution and execution of the program. As theinitial partnership is just now completing its first year, assessment is still evolving. But, earlyanecdotal information is both indicating success and informing the future direction of theinitiative. The value of connecting students to their future work, in settings beyond theclassroom and the faculty, is becoming apparent to all stakeholders as essential to studentsuccess.

Wolff, T. F., & Davis-King, C., & Hinds, T. J., & Briedis, D. (2012, June), Fostering Industry Engagement in the Co-curricular Aspects of an Engineering Living-Learning Program Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21402

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