In preparation for the fall 2016 academic semester, the IU Bloomington Engineering Advocacy and Advisory Board is forming to assist the University in its efforts to establish new engineering ?degree programs.
Chaired by Cook Group Chairman Steve Ferguson, the board is focused primarily on intelligent systems ?disciplines.
The Trustees of IU passed a resolution endorsing the establishment of a new general engineering bachelor’s-level and doctoral-level ?program.
The next step is sending the degree proposals to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in hopes ?of approval.
Joining Ferguson are various business leaders including David Becker, president and CEO of First Internet Bank; Brian Blackwell, director of engagement at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division; Don Brown, president and CEO of Interactive Intelligence; Scott Dorsey, chairman of TinderBox; Tim Hassinger, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences; Craig Neal Jones, personnel director of GM Powertrain in Bedford; John C. Lechleiter, chairman, president and CEO of Eli Lilly and Co.; Ray Niehaus, director of Center for Technology, Innovation and Manufacturing of Vincennes University Jasper Campus; and Alisa Wright, CEO of ?BioConvergence.
The board will provide continuous advice and counsel to academic leaders associated with the creation of the engineering program to help ensure alignment with the needs of industry in the state.
“As the economy becomes more technologically dependent, it is imperative that Indiana University Bloomington develop a culture of building and making if it is to reach its full potential as a research university and fully contribute to economic development in the state,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in the release. “Key to such a culture is engineering.”
Alyson Malinger
