<p>I am impressed with all that Swarthmore has to offer, that it's one of the few National Liberal Arts schools to offer engineering, and that many of its students go on to top engineering graduate schools. Other than upgrading the engineering facilities, will there be any other changes to the engineering program that will improve its peer ranking and allow it to better compete with other small college engineering programs?</p>
<p>I don’t have detailed knowledge of the engineering department at Swarthmore, but my sense is that this gift will be more for keeping the program up-to-date in facilities and possibly faculty staffing. Given the size of the college, it is hard for me to believe that Swarthmore engineering will offer a whole suite of specialized engineering programs, e.g. Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical etc. I imagine it will continue to offer the BS in general engineering.</p>
<p>Part of the motivation for the gift is the implementation of Swarthmore’s new strategic plan. Here’s what the plan says about engineering:</p>
<p>Our initial focus must be on the departments of engineering, biology, and psychology.
Engineering is still housed in Hicks Hall, built in 1919 and seriously inadequate
for the needs of a contemporary engineering program. Engineering education in the 21st
century focuses on teamwork and collaboration, but Swarthmore’s department lacks
adequate space for group work in courses, for students’ senior level design projects, and
for engaging students with faculty research. Swarthmore’s Engineering Department is
the model for an interdisciplinary, problem-based, collaborative, innovative, and
community-based program that marks the future of the liberal arts. We must bring our
facilities in line with the contemporary needs of this dynamic program.</p>
<p>Do you happen to have a link to the whole strategic plan? Very interesting section you quoted, I would like to see the whole thing.</p>