by Bob Jacobsen '63

In the 46 years since the first bachelor's degree program was approved, the ASU College of Engineering & Applied Sciences has continued to grow and mature. So much so, that today no less than 6,500 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the college, which has seven separate engineering departments and the Del E. Webb School of Construction.

The climb to become one of the nation's top 50 engineering schools was not easy.

The college's original function as a teaching college was to provide education across a broad range of areas. It developed 12 different teaching programs.

"It actually was more," said Dean Peter Crouch, "because it included programs in technology, agribusiness and construction that were brought into the college at various times. It was hard to make a national impact with so many programs.

"For 23 years the college was basically nowhere nationally. The statement that ASU was a great engineering college typically came from local industry." Why? Because the college had evolved this very intimate relationship with local industry by supplying graduates to these companies and many ASU faculty were adjunct, employed by these same industries.

In 1979 Roland Hayden was appointed Dean. It was his challenge to not only have a teaching program, but also a college with national stature. At that time it primarily focused on undergraduate programs with few master's or Ph.D. programs. What happened over the next 15-16 years was the college learned to add research programs.

"That was a remarkably complex thing to do," said Crouch.

Crouch was named Dean in 1995.

"I wanted to bring our important programs, which had not been previously supported, to a competitive level nationally," he said. "Electrical engineering and mechanical engineering were already there. I've spent the last seven years working on the others.

"It had already been decided to move the Technology program and Agribusiness to ASU East by the time I became Dean. We accomplished the move the year after I took over. The ASU Main campus kept Construction because it's a very important industry for Arizona, and I felt if we wanted to be known in the Arizona community, that was necessary. Not many engineering programs have a construction management program.

"I wanted, too, to find a way to compete with all the other terrific engineering schools. I wanted to take our college from the Model-T Ford era to the Lexus era."

CEAS has been at the forefront of national changes to the undergraduate engineering curriculum with programs such as the National Science Foundation Coalitions and its Center for Research on Education in Science, Math, Engineering and Technology.

Today the college ranks in the top 50 of some 320 engineering schools. Crouch feels the next logical step is the top 25.

"How do we do that?" he asked. "The answer is we have to develop national and world-class programs in a few areas, and we have to understand which programs to do that with. You notice I didn't say to be No. 1. We have to set realistic sights. Even the top 25 institutions have an amazing pedigree and history. That itself will be a challenge."

One area Crouch feels is vital is technology transfer. He said what makes MIT, Stanford and Columbia so distinguished is
just that.

"We have to understand how to be the birthplace for new technology," he said. "We have to learn how to create technology and have that technology employed in the market place. We haven't done that since the college was founded."

What distinguishes ASU from a top private school? "My favorite example is Cal Tech," said Crouch. "Its student-to-faculty ratio is about 2-1. Ours is more like 30-1. The real issue is how to get a quality education with high student-to-faculty ratios. Our computer science department has a ratio more like 50-1.

"It is not clear this is solvable given the fact this is a state university. But that's where our competition is."

Another vital aspect of the college under Hayden was the Dean's Advisory Council composed of Valley business leaders. But it went by the wayside when he departed. One of Crouch's tasks was to re-activate it.

"When Roland was still Dean, I was able to attend some of his Advisory Council meetings," said Crouch. "I think that experience has helped me to embellish it and make it a better thing. I feel it's important so the industry we supply believes in us and understands us.

"It's also important in championing the cause of engineering so leaders of the university understand the importance of the college. Without the Advisory Council the importance of engineering might be forgotten. It's my way of ensuring there's a local base of support for the college and all levels at the university.

"We have an associate dean whose responsibility is recruitment, retention and placement," said Crouch. "We have devoted a lot of resources to women and minorities, and we have strong programs for them. If the local industry comes to me and says it wants female or minority engineers, or African-American, Native American or Hispanic engineers, it is important that we satisfy their needs.

"If I have a customer base saying if you don't give me a certain percentage of minorities, I'm going elsewhere, this naturally becomes an extremely important aspect of our college."

Another interesting aspect of what CEAS is doing is working with the College of Education in an Outreach K-12 program, toward which local businesses funnel significant dollars.

"It's not only outreach that's important," said Crouch, "it's the teachers. If we don't have scientifically, technically, literate teachers, we're never going to have a student who's going to come to school here. Not only will we not have minorities, we won't have any students. I think we can work together to improve the K-12 system."

ASU engineering graduates have gone on to play significant roles. More than 10,000 are employed in the Valley of the Sun. The mission of CEAS is to provide students with a high-quality education ensuring success in their future roles; support research, education and professional service needs of industry, business and government; and to enhance the economic well being of Arizona.

Art Handugan, a semiconductor process engineer in the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences clean room, works with an applied material etcher, which was donated by the Intel Corporation.

Challenges drive dean to reach higher