Yale Creates New Engineering School
By Anonymous
After approval by the Yale Corporation, Yale University will create a School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS).
“Re-establishing the School of Engineering and Applied Science is the next step in a 14-year effort to strengthen engineering at Yale,” said’ President Richard C. Levin, “and is part of our broader strategy of enhancing Yale’s excellence in science and technology. This will raise the visibility and preeminence of the field, at a time of great promise for engineering’s contribution to solving problems to improve health, prosperity and the environment.”
The School of Engineering and Applied Science will be led by Dean T. Kyle Vanderlick.
“The establishment of SEAS will ensure strategic growth and enhanced research and educational opportunities in engineering, including the creation of bridges to other schools at Yale,” Vanderlick said. “It will also cement the integral role of engineering in a complete liberal arts education.”
Yale’s commitment to engineering began in the 1850s when the Yale Scientific School first began providing instruction in engineering to its undergraduates. The program has recently grown in both size and stature during Levin’s tenure as president.
In 1994 Levin recruited D. Allan Bromley, then scientific advisor to President George H.W. Bush, as dean to enhance the program. Bromley was later succeeded by Yale Engineering Dean Paul A. Fleury. In 2003, Yale launched the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and two years later, dedicated the more than 60,000-square-foot Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center.
Yale announced plans to construct a new engineering research building for interdisciplinary work, and will be increasing the number of faculty positions in the new School of Engineering and Applied Science from its current level of 59 to 70.
While Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will continue to award undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, respectively, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will oversee faculty appointments and promotions, SEAS will have the opportunity to create joint appointments with other departments and schools in the university, thereby strengthening relationships with the life sciences, forestry and environmental studies, and other fields in the arts and sciences.
“Engineers create solutions to complex problems with roots in the technical domain as driven by societal needs and advancements,” Vanderlick said. “In general there is no single or right solution; parts of the problem are often ill-defined, and the scientific components of the problem cannot be separated from the societal components and the human context.”
“Moreover,” added Vanderlick, “complex problems are not solved in isolation. They require people from different disciplines and backgrounds, working side by side, and effectively communicating with one another. This is exactly the type of engineering education that Yale can, and must, provide in our role of producing future generations of leaders.”
The creation of the School of Engineering and Applied Science comes amidst a dramatic expansion of scientific and medical research at Yale, including new facilities and programs. For example, last year, Yale acquired the former Bayer Pharmaceuticals facilities. The university is transforming the site into the 136-acre “West Campus,” which will feature more than one million feet of laboratory and other space.
For more information visit www.yale.edu.
Copyright New Haven Business Times May 2008
(c) 2008 Business Times, The; East Hartford. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.