Letter from the Dean October 2023
Dear Members of the College of Engineering Alumni, Parent and Friend Community:
It is my pleasure, as Dean Ad Interim of the BU College of Engineering, to welcome you to a new semester by reflecting on where we are and on the exciting path ahead. I am immensely grateful to Ken Lutchen for his transformational leadership of the College, and though I assume this role at a time when the College has much to celebrate, I am also focused on ensuring our continued growth, evolution, and positive impact on our community and the world around us.
I have been a proud member of the College community since joining the Faculty in 2003. I strongly believe in our mission, having served on the team that developed and launched the implementation of the College’s ambitious Strategic Plan in 2021 – graduating Societal Engineers who embrace an interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach to meet global challenges and advancing the research that will define the future. We recognize that the world’s most challenging problems demand creative, cross-disciplinary ideas to solve them, and BU Engineering seeks to provide the kind of environment for these ideas to thrive. Our faculty and students are advancing solutions in service of society—diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease using machine learning, growing cardiac muscles to cure heart attacks, and developing longer lasting batteries. We cannot accomplish our mission alone; it will require the support of alumni and friends who believe in the capacity of our faculty and students to benefit our communities, our country, and our world for the better.
As we look ahead, I am mindful that the College will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2024. This upcoming milestone presents a momentous opportunity to take stock of where we are and to strengthen our path forward. I believe you – our alumni, parents and friends – are instrumental to our continued success, and while you may not be a regular presence on campus, you remain an essential part of our community. I have had the opportunity to connect with several alumni and parents over the last few months, and it has been heartening to learn of your many contributions, whether through mentoring, attending events, and sharing your expertise, to list a few examples. Whatever your engagement has been to this point, I invite you to begin, continue or reengage with us as we move ahead. Your input helps to shape our students’ experiences and the future directions of the College. We will strive to provide opportunities for you to stay engaged – we recently had the honor of celebrating three alumni at this year’s Engineering Distinguished Alumni Awards. Later this month, our Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center (BTEC) will host a Biomedical Innovations of the Future Symposium on October 19 on campus, which I welcome you to attend. We are committed to educating the societal engineer and reaching a bright future, and we ask you to get involved and to join us.
I look forward to meeting and learning from all of you in the months to come. If you would like to learn more or engage with us, please do not hesitate to reach out to me here.
With gratitude and excitement for our year ahead,
__________________________________________________
Elise F. Morgan (she/her)
Maysarah K Sukkar Professor of Engineering Design and Innovation
Dean ad interim
College of Engineering
Boston University