http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/09/08/famu-fsu-coe-dean-sets-goal-becoming-top-50-institution/90092270/
"J. Murray Gibson, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, says it has the right combination to become one of the country’s top schools in 10 years.
Gibson, addressing members of the college’s Management Council meeting Thursday, said the joint college also has the potential to supply engineers for future job demands in Florida, while also helping to fill the void of minority engineers nationwide.
“In five to 10 years, I could see this being a top 50 college, the best in the country for producing African-American engineers,” said Murray, who was appointed dean in June.
Getting there will require increased private fundraising, hiring top professors, branding the college and convincing the Legislature that the school needs more money.
Today, the college ranks 117th in national graduate rankings. It has 90 faculty members and generates $20 million in research funding. In comparison, the University of Florida ranks NO. 43 nationally. It has 200 faculty members and brings in $68 million in annual research.
State University System Chancellor Marshall Criser III, suggested the college form a collaboration with Florida’s business leaders in generating research money. He mentioned the success of The Georgia Research Association and its relationship with Georgia Tech and other Peach state universities.
FSU President John Thrasher said it was important to note the joint college’s improvements in the past two years. The next step is to get legislative approval for more funding.
The college’s legislative budget request for next year is a little more than $7 million. That includes $3 million in “start-up” money for new faculty and boosting research capabilities; an additional $625,000 for five new faculty members and $1 million to increase faculty salaries so they are more in line with colleagues nationally. It also would go toward making salaries between FAMU faculty and FSU faculty more equitable.
Murray said the joint college also could become a model for other universities serious about producing more minority graduates. His goal is to have it recognized as the “best engineering school in the nation” for educating black engineers.
“Apple would hire most everyone we could produce,” he said of the tech-industry’s push to diversify their workplaces.
Later, council members were given a tour of the college."
I love it.
ReplyDeleteTo be sure, increasing state funding, private donations, the size of the faculty, the amount of research and the College's overall rank will NOT be an easy or quick task. What I LOVE is that we FINALLY stated a lofty goal for the College. That is FSU's biggest academic problem, it completely lacks any sort of ambition (compare football/athletic ambition vs on the academic side).
I hope we are one of the top producers of African American engineers in a decade. I'd love to see us be one of the top producers of Hispanic engineers, too. Our College of Medicine always ranks highly in both educating African American and Hispanic MDs, so hopefully the College of Engineering can do something similar.
I truly hope this succeeds. Not only would it be good for FSU, but it'd be good for Tallahassee and the entire State of Florida. And maybe if an FSU-led joint Engineering school can produce a respectable level of success (sadly, a longshot given the history of the college), then perhaps the two could partner to create a new FSU-led joint College of Dentistry down the line (since FAMU has been lobbying - poorly - for one for years). And then perhaps at some point later this century the State will wisen up and just merge the two universities into one, creating a power university more in-line with UF in terms of scope of colleges and degree programs. And that would only help the state compete with other states for the best students. (I'd personally want to see the merged FAMU/FSU school quadruple the size of FSU's current CARE program, though. Providing a quality education for the underserved, first-in-their-family to attend college and minority students that has proven so successful for FSU.)