Sandestin Beach Golf & Tennis Resort
Site of NEEDHA's Fifteenth Annual Meeting
In This Issue . . .
1999 Annual Meeting
NEEDHA Members' Gatherings
Government Service for Engineers
Hawaii Highlights
Career Videos Coming to NEEDHA
1999 NEEDHA Program Schedule
Note from the President
NEEDHA Officers and Chairs
NEEDHA Officers for 98-99
State of the Organization
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Sandestin Beach Golf & Tennis Resort |
NEEDHA members will again gather next to the water for the 1999 Annual Meeting, but this time it's the Gulf of Mexico, not the Pacific Ocean. The Sandestin Beach Hilton Resort in Florida, midway between Pensacola and Panama City, hosts NEEDHA from March 5-9, 1999. In addition to a broad, sandy beach, the resort features outdoor and indoor pools, sailing, saltwater fishing, ten tennis courts, and sixty-three holes of USGA championship golf. All the rooms are oversized, with a children's sleeping area, a refrigerator, and a balcony with a Gulf view. So bring the family if you can! Excellent air transportation is available into Pensacola and Panama City.
The topics for each year's Annual Meeting are carefully selected to provide balance across the many areas to which a department head must pay attention and to provide some insights into the future. We are particularly excited about this year's meeting that looks into coming changes in the electrical engineering profession (biological aspects, microelectrical-mechanical systems, optical processing, etc.) and in electrical engineering education (distance and asynchronous learning, new programs such as software engineering and information engineering, etc.). Of course, we won't neglect more immediate matters such as ABET accreditation. A mixture of general sessions and small-group breakouts has been planned. See the tentative program for details.
A special edition of the new Two-Day ABET Workshop on Preparing for an EC2000 evaluation (see the story elsewhere in this Newsletter) is being planned in conjunction with the Annual Meeting. This is tentatively scheduled for Thursday and Friday. The Evaluator Training Session will be moved to Saturday, and will only be intended for Program Evaluators. Separate advance registration is required for both events. Details will be available in the Meeting Announcement and on the web.
Save the Dates and Make Your Reservations
NEEDHA Annual Meeting
To register for the meeting call NEEDHA at 1-312-559-3724
For hotel reservations contact the Sandestin Beach Hilton at
For discount airfares call Delta at 1-800-241-6760 |
If you haven't used the NEEDHA Web site recently, you will see several new features the next time you surf over to it at www.needha.org. In particular, you may register for the 1999 Annual Meeting, check out any last-minute changes to the meeting schedule, and identify colleagues on the pre-registration list. Also, the new email list for NEEDHA members is working well (after Paul Penfield beat unix and perl into submission). Your email addressed to members@needha.org will be sent to all NEEDHA members in the directory unless they have checked the directory box to remain off the email list. There is a FAQ page (http://www.needha.org/email-list.html) in case you have questions. Please let us know of any suggestions to improve the usefulness of the web pages and the email list to NEEDHA members.
Since our last edition, NEEDHA members have gathered for dinner and conversation at one ASEE and two FIE annual meetings. These events always seem to provide just the right combination of NEEDHA old-timers and newcomers so that friendships are both established and developed. Be sure to put the 1999 ASEE meeting in Charlotte (June 20-23) on your calendar!
The Grand Concourse restaurant was the scene for a delightful dinner and conversation with NEEDHA members and spouses attending the 1997 Frontiers in Education Conference in Pittsburgh. We met on the south bank of the Monongahela River across from downtown Pittsburgh in the dramatic old railroad station. Many thanks to Marwan Simaan for suggesting the restaurant. NEEDHA members and spouses in attendance included: President Bill Brown (Univ. of Arkansas), Vice President Larry Burton and Barbara (Penn State), Secretary/Treasurer Jim Roberts and Carol (Univ. of Kansas), Dave Soldan (Kansas State), Bob White (Carnegie Mellon), Glen Gerhard (Univ. of Arizona), Maurice and Laurie Aburdene (Bucknell), Marwan Simaan (Univ. of Pittsburgh), and Frank Merat (Case Western Reserve). Former NEEDHA member Ted Batchman (now Dean at Nevada-Reno) and his wife Nancy tried to crash the NEEDHA gathering but were turned back at the door! However, their consolation prize was a table with a prime view of downtown and the river, and Rod and Tracy Soukup (Univ. of Nebraska) joined them.
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ASEE Dinner in Seattle |
Next on the calendar was ASEE in Seattle, where we made the trek from our hotels on the hillside down to the harbor for the beautiful setting of Anthony's Pier 66 Restaurant. Joining the group in Seattle were Sherra and David Kerns (Vanderbilt), Les Thede (Ohio Northern Univ.), Rod and Tracy Soukup (Univ. of Nebraska), John Schmalzel (Rowan), Kent Fuchs (Purdue), Will Tompkins (Univ. of Wisconsin), Jon Bredeson (Texas Tech), Gary Erickson (Boise State), Larry and Karen Kinney (Univ. of Minnesota), Mani Venkata (Iowa State Univ.), Paul Neudorfer (Seattle Univ.), Tom Plant (Oregon State), Howard Chizeck (Case Western Reserve), Belle Wei (San Jose State), and John Orr (WPI). Barry Spielman, NEEDHA Secretary/Treasurer at the time of the ASEE meeting, made the arrangements but was unable to attend. He thanks Greg Zick at the University of Washington, Seattle for recommending this excellent restaurant.
Finally, just before press time, the 1998 FIE-NEEDHA gathering was held in Tempe, Arizona. Stephen Goodnick, Electrical Engineering Department Chair at Arizona State, selected the Mill Landing restaurant, just across the street from the conference hotel. Steve's careful planning and double-checking were apparently no match for the restaurant's disorganized schedule book, and we were told that they had no record of our reservation for twenty! Nevertheless, we were well accommodated and enjoyed excellent dinners and much pleasant conversation. Attendees included Mahmood Nahvi (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), Sally Wood and Ronald Danielson (both of Santa Clara Univ.), Bob Mattauch (Virginia Commonwealth), David and Jerry Conner (Univ. of Alabama), Tarek Sibh (Univ. of Bridgeport), John Reagan and Glen Gearhard (both of the Univ. of Arizona), Ed Jones (Iowa State), Dave Soldan (Kansas State), Rod and Tracy Soukup (Univ. of Nebraska), Art Broderson (Vanderbilt), Ed and Mary Matascusa (Bucknell), Dick Turpin, (Univ. of the Pacific), Stephen Goodnick (Arizona State), and John Orr (WPI).
IEEE is completing a multimedia project, funded by the Sloan Foundation, to help undergraduates in electrical engineering and computer science get in synch with the real world. IEEE conducted 109 video interviews with practitioners throughout the United States and assembled information and databases useful to students. In late November, the IEEE will send out free videos to EE departments via NEEDHA, one set per school. An additional set will be sent to each IEEE student branch. Next year, departments and student branches will receive a copy of the CD--ROM.
IEEE Educational Activities urges department heads to inform faculty of availability of these professionally produced materials for use during career days, in courses dealing with professionalism, and at university career centers. These materials are part of the Sloan Career Cornerstone Project in which the IEEE cooperated with ten other associations to develop career education materials for engineering, mathematics, and science. For more information, contact Peter Wiesner, p.wiesner@ieee.org 1-732-562-5000.
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NEEDHA members and guests gather for the opening |
It was NEEDHA's best-attended annual meeting with 166 NEEDHA members gathered as our guests on Oahu in March, 1998. For those of us who decorated our college dorm rooms with posters from the surfing movie "Endless Summer," it was great to be on Oahu's North Shore, home of some of the world's best surfing beaches. But beyond the great location was a stimulating, substantial, and worthwhile meeting agenda.
Prior to the start of the Annual Meeting, the day-long Workshop for ABET Criteria 2000 evaluators was held with an overflow crowd. Denny Avers led the session with a full agenda addressing all aspects of the new criteria from the viewpoint of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering program evaluators. Also held on Friday, March 13 was the workshop for new department heads, led by Mos Kaveh.
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NEEDHA Board members (from left) Bill Brown, Larry Burton |
President Bill Brown officially welcomed us on Saturday morning, reiterating the "no necktie" policy. The initial Plenary Session was devoted to (what else?) Criteria 2000, with presentations by Dan Hodge, Accreditation Director at ABET and ex-NEEDHA member, and C. Denny Avers, member of the Engineering Accreditation Committee and the primary developer of the visitor training program. A panel discussion on preparation for Criteria 2000 visits followed. Saturday afternoon was devoted to C2000 implementation issues with a panel led by Ed Ernst of the University of South Carolina. Saturday evening saw a magnificent Pacific sunset (as did every other evening) followed by an outdoor luau feast and performance of Hawaiian songs and dances.
Monday morning was devoted to critical issues in electrical engineering education with keynote speaker Joseph Bordogna, Acting Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation. Joe's visionary talk was followed by a panel discussion on the Internationalization of Engineering Education.
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Joe Bordogna presents Monday's keynote session. |
After the coffee break on Monday, Breakout Sessions provided opportunities to pursue a wide range of individual interests. The first session offered "Life After Department Head," "Teaching Innovations," and "Industrial Needs over the Next Five Years." The second session presented "Post Tenure Review," "Department Management," and "Department Resources." That was a VERY full morning, and at the coffee break we received a lesson in harvesting coconuts, particularly on how to climb a coconut palm tree barefoot (especially tricky when the tree has nails in it).
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Meeting attendees listen to guest speakers to gain |
After lunch on Monday many of us returned indoors from a gorgeous day for a session on "Trends in Student Interest in EE, Computer Engineering, and CS chaired by Jim Roberts. The final session on Monday brought back "department head emeritus" David Conner to moderate the "Your Opinion Counts" session.
If Marshall Molen's position at Mississippi disappears, his second career as a stand-up comic will be at least as successful. Marshal recounted some of his most memorable conversations for us -- from his mother-in-law, his dean, and other individuals whose thoughts he would have preferred had not been shared with him. Marshall recognized the Awards Committee, including Michael A. Austin, Naim A. Kheir, Robert J. Mattauch, and David L. Soldan, and presented the Award for Outstanding Service to NEEDHA to Rod Soukup. In addition to his participation on the Awards Committee, Rod has served as secretary-treasurer, Vice President, and President of NEEDHA. Rod has also provided exceptional service to ASEE and in the electronic materials and devices area. Rod received his BS, MS, Ph.D degrees from the University of Minnesota and has been a member of the faculty at Nebraska since 1976.
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Bill Brown, outgoing President, receives a token of |
The ECE Department of Carnegie Mellon University received the Innovative Program Award in recognition of their creative and ground-breaking new ECE curriculum. Several CMU faculty were recognized as instrumental in this work, including Ron Rohrer, Stephen Director, and Bob White, who accepted the award.
Bill Brown was also recognized at the banquet by Sherra Kerns for a very successful meeting with a lei of artifacts to provide sustenance on a cold Arkansas night.
The conference's final day on Tuesday began with the formal NEEDHA business meeting, including rousing campaign speeches by the candidates for NEEDHA offices.
The Open Forum concluded the morning and the 1998 NEEDHA Annual Meeting.
9:00 am-5:00 pm ABET Evaluator Workshop:
Preparing for an EC2000 Evaluation,
(separate registration)
9:00 am-5:00 pm Day two of ABET Workshop
(separate registration)
4:00 pm-6:00 pm New Chairs' Workshop
6:30 pm-8:00 pm Welcome Reception
7:00 am Regional Meetings
8:30 am President's Welcome
8:45 am Technology Futures (Biology, MEMS,
Optics, etc.)
9:00 am-5:00 pm ABET Evaluator Training Session,
(separate registration required)
Noon Luncheon
1:00 pm Parallel Sessions: ABET, Graduate Programs
3:00 pm Parallel Sessions: Graduate Student Funding,
EE/CS Issues
4:30 pm Parallel Session Reports
6:30 pm Reception and Dinner
On your own!
8:00 am Education Futures (Distance and
Asynchronous Learning, New Programs, etc.)
Noon Luncheon
1:00 pm ABET C2000: Lessons from Evaluators
2:45 pm Parallel Sessions: Graduate Student
Recruitment, Faculty Recruitment, ABET
4:15 pm Parallel Session Reports
6:30 pm Reception and Awards Banquet
8:30 am NEEDHA Business Meeting 10:30 am Open Forum Noon Luncheon, Adjourn
NEEDHA present two awards: the Distinguished Service Award to current or former NEEDHA members who have rendered exceptional service to the organization, and the Innovative Program Award to a department or individuals who have developed and implemented a particularly innovative program in EE/ECE education. Please send nominations to G. Marshall Molen, chair of the Awards Committee, or Kathy Ricker at the NEEDHA office. To accommodate the selection process for the annual meeting, nominations should be received by February 1, 1999, and should be accompanied by a brief supporting statement. More information on NEEDHA awards is on the Web site at www.needha.org.
The following is based on an article that, as NEEDHA President, I was asked to write for The Interface (a newsletter published jointly by the ECE division of the ASEE and the IEEE Education Society). The full article will appear in the November 1998 issue of The Interface.
I recently attended the IEEE Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA) meeting on behalf of the National Electrical Engineering Department Heads Association (NEEDHA). During the August, 1998, meeting of the NEEDHA Board of Directors, I was asked by the NEEDHA Board to speak at the CEAA meeting on behalf of NEEDHA about implementation of the engineering accreditation 2000 (EC2K) criteria and process.
The sense I had gathered from other NEEDHA members and members of the Board about the pursuit of accreditation is that (1) for the most part, NEEDHA members believe that accreditation is valuable in that we should distinguish academic programs that are substandard from those that are above a suitable threshold of acceptability; (2) the pre-EC2K "bean counting" approach to accreditation is overly prescriptive and, thereby, may inhibit creativity in fielding a program; (3) although EC2K is less prescriptive than the previous accreditation approach, EC2K is so amorphous that getting started is difficult. This is why NEEDHA has expended considerable effort to help its members deal with this new process.
As I traveled to this meeting, it occurred to me that we might gain insight about this new process by examining a previously developed performance evaluation process. Prior to joining academia in 1987 to serve as a department chair, I was employed for seventeen years at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. During the 1970s, David Packard led a blue-ribbon panel to establish a process (still in use to this day) for evaluating performance of federal government employees using a management-by-objectives process. In that process a manager/supervisor meets with a subordinate at the beginning of a performance-evaluation period (e.g., beginning of the fiscal year) to discuss and agree on the specific objectives and goals to be accomplished during the year to come. At the midpoint of the performance period, a meeting is held to determine whether the subordinate is on track or whether situations that could affect the accomplishment of the goals may have developed. At the end of the performance period, another meeting takes place during which the supervisor assesses whether the performance for the year was "unsatisfactory" or one of four other performance levels (marginal, satisfactory, highly satisfactory, or outstanding). If the subordinate's performance is assessed to be either "unsatisfactory" or "marginal," then remedial action is defined and a reassessment is done during a subsequent meeting.
The most significant difference between this process and the ABET process is in the way the period begins. In the blue-ribbon process at "t=0," the supervisor and subordinate define and agree on the objectives, goals, and expected accomplishments for the year. At the beginning of the ABET EC2K process, there is no such initial accord reached. Instead, the subordinate (i.e., the department conducting the program to be assessed by ABET) sets its own objectives, goals, and accomplishment benchmarks, to learn whether the "supervisor" (ABET) concurs for the first time at the end of the evaluation period up to six years later.
What is needed but currently missing as each program begins on the ABET EC2K process is a "getting started" meeting. Some might say this is not needed because workshops and training sessions are conducted to help departments learn how to implement C2K. However, critical aspects are not addressed: the specific goals and accomplishments by which ABET will judge performance. Such a "getting started" meeting was not critical for the old criteria because the beancounting approach was so prescriptive that it inherently provided sufficiently tight guidance to program administrators. In the steady state, the exit interview from one visit can also serve as the "getting started" visit for the next performance period.
How can we accomplish the equivalent to a "getting started" meeting for the initial period the ABET EC2K process? When this idea was proposed during the CEAA meeting some creative ideas were suggested: (1) ABET might send a visitor to serve as a consultant at the beginning of the period in which the EC2K approach is to be employed; (2) the initial visit under the EC2K guidelines may not be a program assessment visit but a "getting started" visit; (3) for previously accredited programs, ABET could train its evaluators to conduct a "getting started" meeting at the conclusion of the final visit under the old guidelines.
It is clear that much of the consternation among our engineering departments over the EC2K is a result of perceived ambiguities in, or uncertainties of interpretation of, the EC2K criteria and the lack of an effective "getting started" meeting between ABET and the program.
Members of the NEEDHA Board of Directors and Committee Chairs for 1998-99 are as follows:
President
Barry Spielman, Washington University
Vice President
Roger P. Webb, Georgia Tech
Secretary-Treasurer
John A. Orr, WPI
Junior Past President
William D. Brown, University of Arkansas
Senior Past President
Paul Penfield, Jr., MIT
Members at Large
Rodney J. Soukup, University of Nebraska
Robert Mattauch, Virginia Commonwealth University
IEC Representative
Edward W. Ernst, University of South Carolina
Executive Director, Assistant Treasurer
Robert M. Janowiak
Awards Committee Chair
G. Marshall Molen, Mississippi State University
Nominating Committee Chair
David L. Soldan, Kansas State University
Survey Committee Chair
S.S (Mani) Venkata, Iowa State University
Accreditation Issues Committee Chair
Sherra E. Kerns, Vanderbilt University
Web Committee Chair
Paul Penfield, Jr., MIT
Newsletter Editor
John A. Orr, WPI
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NEEDHA Board members gather this summer for the |
This past year was particularly dangerous for NEEDHA officers: as soon as many of them assumed their positions they become deans. This kept our nominating committee busy. We believe the dust has settled for a while, and Barry Spielman of Washington University has assumed the Presidency without much benefit of experience as Secretary-Treasurer or Vice President. Nevertheless, Barry is performing brilliantly. Coming in as Secretary-Treasurer is John Orr of WPI, who cannot use inexperience as an excuse for any slip-ups; he previously served on the board as Member at Large. New to the board as Member at Large is Bob Mattauch of Virginia Commonwealth University. Roger Webb from Georgia Tech is Vice President and principal organizer for the 1999 Annual Meeting.
Since its organization fifteen years ago, NEEDHA has matured to represent the vast majority of the electrical and computer engineering programs in the United States. The feedback that we receive and membership renewal rates demonstrate the value of NEEDHA to our members. Attendance at the 1998 Annual Meeting set an all-time record. NEEDHA intends to remain a grassroots organization with high-quality services to its members, with great assistance from IEC. Following is a brief statistical summary of NEEDHA:
NEEDHA Membership, 7/31/98: 260
Total number of ABET accredited EE/CompEng programs (potential membership): 298
Web site, average accesses per month: 900
Annual Meeting attendance, 1998: 166 (plus guests)
Annual Budget, 1998: $105,000
NEEDHA Net Worth, 1/1/98: $38,081
2000: New Orleans, LA
2001: Scottsdale, AZ (tentative)
2002: Cancun, Mexico (tentative)
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One more Hawaii photo... |
A series of regional faculty workshops is being organized by ABET to assist faculty in developing programs and assessment plans for EC2000. The first workshop is planned for early December, 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The following is the schedule for 1999:
Seattle, WA - April, 1999
Charlotte, NC - June, 1999
Kansas City, MO - October, 1999
New Jersey - December, 1999
These workshops will be two days in length and are sponsored and funded by ABET, NSF, and corporate supporters. Contact ABET (410-347-7730, edandis@abet.org, www.abet.org) for more information.
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Other newsletters: 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-00, 2001-02|
Created: Jan 4, 1999
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Modified: Jan 14, 1999|
To NEEDHA home page
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