Dean's Message
TEN YEARS.It’s been 10 years since I assumedthe role of dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and what a decade ofgrowth, of accomplishments,of a renewedcommitmentto being the best student-centered engineering experience in America. In this report — my last as dean before moving on to become Auburn University’s 21st president — I am excited to share with you the accomplishments of not only the last year, but also to reflect on how far we’ve come in the past decade, together.
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| Dean Christopher B. Roberts |
I am pleased to share that after two years of uncertainty and disruptions from the pandemic, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering experienced a successful full return to in-person instruction and operations in the fall and spring of 2021-22. Our outstanding faculty and staff paired a commitment to the health and well-being of our campus community with a resolve to deliver to our students the top-notch, hands-on, experiential learning they have come to expect.
Once again, our college was ranked among the top 30 public engineering schools in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. This marks our third consecutive top 30 ranking, and continues a trend that started well before my time as dean. I have no doubt this trend will see the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering breaking into the top 25 public engineering schools in the near future. This consistent ranking validates our college as a national leader in engineering education and recognizes our efforts to create an exceptional student-centered engineering experience at Auburn.
Over the years the college of engineering has seen tremendous growth. Overall engineering enrollment over the last decade has grown more than 25% and our efforts to significantly expand our faculty, which began in earnest in 2015, has resulted in the hiring of more than 100 tenure-track faculty members during the past seven years. The return on this effort can be found in our record-setting research expenditures for 2021, made possible through the hard work and exceptional grantsmanship of our faculty and research staff. Our list of National Science Foundation Early CAREER and Navy Young Investigator award-winning faculty has continued to grow, testament to the work, hard work of our talented researchers.
Auburn Engineering students added to the list of great accomplishments that has earned our student body its high reputation. Our roster of Astronaut Scholars and Department of Defense SMART Scholars grew, several student organizations earned national recognitions for their achievements, and undergraduate and graduate researchers alike earned significant awards to further their research pursuits.
Our Engineering Academic Excellence Program celebrated its 25th anniversary this past year — a quarter century of transformational student support services geared toward underrepresented students in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. In honor of this milestone anniversary, the program has become the Center for Inclusive Engineering Excellence in recognition of the impact it has made on underrepresented engineering students. To date, more than 1,000 African American engineering undergraduates have earned degrees from Auburn, making our college a top 25 university to graduate African American engineers in the country.
I am proud of the work we have accomplished together over the past decade and I know that even greater things are yet to come for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
Sincerely,
Christopher B. Roberts
