Message from the Chair |
From my perhaps limited perspective, the elements of liberal education are becoming an evermore crucial aspect of even a minimally adequate engineering or technology education. Wherever I turn, be it industrial representatives, colleagues, or current students and alumni, two messages are coming through loud and clear. One, engineering students need more exposure to communication skills opportunities, to the global marketplace, to ethical discussion, and to historical lessons, among other liberal education concerns. Two, they need to be exposed to these concerns throughout the curriculum. The combination of these messages makes clear that all engineering educators need to increase their efforts at breaking down the barriers between the engineering disciplines and the humanities and social sciences.
I know that most members of the Division are committed in their own professional lives to achieving this aim. Traditionally, however, this group has represented only a small active minority in the ASEE. I set it as a goal for the division membership to intensify our efforts to get more of the general membership of the ASEE, as well as colleagues not currently members, involved in our mission. The integration of liberal education concerns and those on the technical side of engineering education should no longer simply be an a vocational concern, it must become a central part of the curriculum planning of all engineering educators as we go about the business of educating students for the 21st century. So, I urge all of you who have committed to the goals of the Liberal Education Division through your membership dues, to encourage colleagues on the sidelines, both in the humanities and social sciences and in engineering and related disciplines, to become involved in the activities of the Division by attending sessions, by submitting papers, by publicizing announcements, and by seeking opportunities for exploration across the disciplines, both inside and outside the ASEE.
I am pleased that the Division leadership team for the coming year represents
the fertilization across the disciplines which I believe will ensure a vibrant
engineering education for the future. Please feel free to contact your officers
about your concerns and dreams for the future. Consider, as well, taking a leadership
role in the Division.
My thanks to last year's officers, especially the outgoing chair, Barbara Olds, for their outstanding contributions to the Division. As always, they put on a program of offerings at the annual meeting of which the division membership can be very proud. Leland Giovannelli, the program chair for the meeting and a leading member of the Division for a number of years, is returning to graduate school. Wish her good luck and a speedy return to an active role in the Division.
The program for the coming year is in good hands. Lance Schachterle is once
again taking on the demanding role of program chair. Let him know of other suggestions
for the program, which is not yet cast in concrete, or contract individual session
chairs to volunteer papers. Get potential newcomers involved too. Congratulations
to Lance as well for being named the recipient of this year's Sterling Olmsted
Award, the highest honor accorded by the Division. By serving as program chair
even after receiving the award you demonstrate your deep commitment to liberal
education in engineering education. Let's all use Lance as a model this year
and in the future. I look forward to a rewarding term as Division chair and
urge you to communicate with me.
1995 Sterling Olmsted Award |
The recipient of this year's Sterling Olmsted award from the Liberal Education
Division was Lance Schachterle. Many LED veterans know Lance from his devoted
service to the division and his many other activities which embody the qualities
sought in the Olmsted recipient as someone who makes "significant contributions
in the teaching and administering of Liberal Education in Engineering Education."
The text of the citation presented to Lance in Anaheim follows.
The Liberal Education Division of the American Society for Engineering Education
is pleased to present the 1995 STERLING OLMSTED AWARD to Lance Schachterle in
recognition of his career of "making significant contributions in the teaching
and administering of Liberal Education in Engineering Education."
The Selection Committee commends Lance Schachterle, professor and administrator.
Dr. Schachterle, who received his B.A. from Haverford College and his Ph.D.
from the University of Pennsylvania, has been a distinguished professor and
program director at Worcester Polytechnic University for twenty-five years.
He has taught a variety of courses on English and American literature and on
interdisciplinary topics. He has published studies on Charles Dickens, James
Fenimore Cooper and Thomas PyNchon in addition to a number of studies relating
literature, science, and technology. Dr. Schachterle was appointed Assistant
Provost for Academic Initiatives at WPI in 1993 and currently is in charge of
first-year and pre-college academic program development. He has also been involved
heavily in the establishment and management of the Massachusetts Academy for
Mathematics and Science, the first publicly funded high school in Massachusetts
at a private college.
As Associate Dean, Dr. Schachterle oversees the development of WPI's project
program. He has also helped to develop WPI's "Global Perspective Program,"
which provides opportunities for WPI students to study in more than eighteen
locations abroad.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Schachterle helped to organize the Society for Literature
and Science and held the offices of first president and first program chair.
At the invitation of Peter Lang Publishers, he established a series of monographs
entitled "WPI Studies in Science, Technology, and Culture," which
has published over ten titles. A member of ASEE since the early 1980s, Dr. Schachterle
served as Program Chair of the Liberal Education Division from 1988-1991 and
as Chair from 1991-1993. For his many contributions to ASEE and to the engineering
profession, the Liberal Education Division is pleased to present its 1995 Sterling
Olmsted Award to Lance Schachterle.
Barbara M. Olds
Chair
Executive Committee
Liberal Education Division
27 June, 1995
Request from the Editor |
Greetings from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am both a new editor and a new member of the Liberal Education Division. Although I teach in a technical area, I am interested in using writing as a learning tool and participated in general education revision process at my school. I was attracted to the LED sessions and business meeting during the 95' annual conference. I was impressed bv the large number and the quality of the sessions, especially considering the small membership of the Division. I was also struck by the feeling of community and a sense of purpose among the division veterans whom I met at the conference.
I would like to hear from you. Is there a feeling of community and sense of
purpose in the Liberal Education Division? What do you need from a newsletter
or the division? How has your involvement in this division helped you? I would
like to receive a letter from you and perhaps print some of your letters in
the spring newsletter. In addition, if you have recently written a book, received
a grant, changed jobs, or have some information that you would like to share
with your colleagues, please send it along. I'll include it in a special section
in the spring newsletter.
My final request is to ask you to help Lance Schachterle, the program chair
for the 96' annual conference, by disseminating the Call For Papers. The information
on the Division sessions has been intentionally placed on one page so that you
can easily make copies and distribute it to your colleagues. Please mark January
on your calendar and send me information for the spring newsletter. I'm looking
forward to hearing from you.
1995-96 Liberal Education Division Officers |
|
Incoming Chair Outgoing Chair Secretary/Treasurer |
Program Chair Program Chair Elect Newsletter Editor |
NSF
|
The May, 1995 edition of the National Science Foundation NEWS included information on the 1994 Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (I LI) awards. Two of the grants might be of special interest to LED members. Carnegie Mellon University received a $42,275 grant DUE-9451375 for "Fostering Co-development Between Technical Writers and Software Engineers." In another award, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater received a $38,054 grant DUE-9452362 for "ComputerAided Instruction Facilities for Science and Technology in Society."
The 94' ILI program provided 437 awards totalling $21.5 million in matching
equipment funds to improve existing or create new undergraduate laboratories.
The 1995 ILI grant applications are due by November 14th. Grant information
is available online at http:// www.nsf.gov/.
To subscribe to NSFnews via the Internet, send an email message to listmanager@nsf.gov.
In the body of the message, type the words "subscribe nsf news" and
then type your name. The system will reply with a confirmation via email.
Announcements |
Newsletter items are requested for a winter edition of this newsletter. If you have something to share with the other LED members, please contact the editor.
The Liberal Education Division will sponsor a Technical Writing Workshop during the ASEE 96' Conference. This session is normally scheduled on Sunday. A modest fee may be charged to cover direct expenses. A volunteer to lead this session is needed. If interested, please contact the program chair.
A volunteer is needed to chair the Esthetic Elements in Engineering Design session at the 1996 annual conference. If interested, please contact the program chair.
The ASEE 96' Annual Conference Call for Papers for all divisions will be available on the World Wide Web at http://www.asee.org /meetings.
Volunteers to review papers for the 1996 Annual Conference Proceedings are welcome. Contact the program chair.
This page is maintained by Steve VanderLeest. It was last modified on June 14, 2000.