DEAN'S CORNER
This is a time of great joy and thanksgiving around our country, and for certain we here at the College feel abundantly grateful for another fruitful year. As the dean of a college of go-getters, over-achievers, and imagination-seekers, there are many things to be thankful for on a daily basis. I will share with you now just a few of those things:
A schedule that leaves me with a full email inbox, a pile of unread books at my desk and a never-ending schedule of meetings - Notoriously dubbed a "thankless job", the job of educating comes with many daily challenges. More often than not, we take on much more than our job description entails. But, in doing so, we also can ensure that each of our students becomes a successful graduate.
Hallways of both Kaufman Hall and the Engineering Systems and Computational Sciences Building full of noise - Nothing exemplifies educational productivity better than chaos. Noisy students are engaged students, possibly discussing ideas or homework problems or significant classroom topics. Being overrun by students' deliberations of engineering topics can only mean one thing, we are more than ready to usher in the new Engineering Systems Research and Academics Building in 2014!
Rising at an early hour...and leaving the office well after my last colleague - Although most of us take our work home at night or on the weekends, the actual hours we are required to be "at the office" allow us plenty of time to mull over the issues surrounding our field while also to be home at a reasonable hour. It is the time we put in at the office that shines through as our students and College at large shine.
The human quest for knowledge - We are a curious bunch, and that quest for knowledge has lifted us all from cave dwellings to technological wonders. It is what makes us who we are. Without it, learning could not happen. Without it, this College would not exist.
The Internet - A complementary component to the human quest for knowledge, the tool that places more learning at the fingertips of more learners than any other tool in the history of the world. This College is only able to serve all of its 3200-plus students through this most powerful and ubiquitous tool.
As we reflect on all of our glad tidings, we send out, on behalf of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, happy holidays and best wishes for 2013!