<p>[Brown</a> Corporation Elects Three New Fellows and Six New Trustees | Brown University Media Relations](<a href=“http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2010/05/corp]Brown”>http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2010/05/corp)</p>
<p>This is exciting and progressive news for the University. I’m happy to see Brown make an effort to improve the sciences here, especially when we’re compared to the hard sciences at our peer institutions. Go Bears!</p>
<p>Also in an email sent to the Brown community:</p>
<p>“The Corporation approved the recommendation of the faculty that Brown University create a School of Engineering, effective July 1, 2010. Establishing the School of Engineering underscores the University’s commitment to educating students and future scholars and leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines; ensures that we will continue to attract excellent faculty and students in engineering; and will create critical mass in key areas within engineering, while building on existing strengths. The new School of Engineering is also responsive to student interests; engineering was the most popular intended concentration among newly admitted members of the class of 2014.”</p>
<p>Awesome! I was just looking into BME too! :D</p>
<p>I don’t know how good it is for the University: obviously I’m not the Corporation, and haven’t looked at the issue of funding enough. Maybe the extra grants we’ll pull in will offset the amount we’re spending on it. Our school’s mission probably still ought to stay undergraduate-focused, as a university-college: if we bring in too many grad students, though, that mission could be overshadowed. I don’t think it will, but there’s that possibility. Right now, I’m going to be a TA next year (as in teaching: I’ll have hours where I help students with material, and grade their work), which is a job many graduate-heavy schools save for their grads. At least section-leading. But in many ways it makes sense for undergrads to be helping out students in the course (not least of which being they went through the course).</p>
<p>Furthermore, I wonder how an engineering school will change our engineering program’s focus: right now, our engineering students tend to be more entrepreneurial than most I’ve seen elsewhere, partially because of the exploratory nature of Brown. I don’t think our focus should be “job-training,” but rather exploring and understanding.</p>
<p>If the Engineering School really strengthens our engineering program, and allows for more interdisciplinary work, in addition to providing more funding for top-notch research, then I’ll be glad (in the years after I graduate) we chose to build it. But if it decreases the resources for each undergraduate (by prioritizing engineering at the expense of other disciplines/adding too many grad students who don’t improve undergrad education), I’ll probably not be a big proponent.</p>
<p>I think I’m excited for its establishment mainly because I feel that it will provide a home for the current engineering program we have now. I’m not an engineerer, but from what I’ve seen, the program currently seems kind of scattered. Creating this “school”, I hope, will make the program more organized and provide the students with better resources and research opportunities. Also, I think it’s an interesting way to get us on the “same level” as other peer schools by creating a separate “school” for engineering. At the same time, however, I do not believe that the creation of the School of Engineering will take the focus away from undergrads; I actually think the focus will strengthen. Students can still feel free to explore other areas of study–the open curriculum will still be there.</p>