Greetings from Missouri S&T’s engineering management and systems engineering (EMSE) department. As mentioned last year, EMSE, along with business and information technology and economics, became one of three founding departments of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development. On June 1, Dr. James Sterling will join the college as vice provost and founding dean. Below you can read about Dr. Sterling’s experience and leadership in applied entrepreneurship and in creating new academic enterprises.
In addition to new college leadership, EMSE continues to progress. As you’ll see in the stories below, our teaching, research and service mission continues to positively impact students, faculty, alumni, and the public at large.
The department was pleased to learn that our online master’s in engineering management degree program tied for third place with Duke University in the recent U.S. News and World Report rankings of online master’s in engineering management degrees, a true testament to the quality and success of this pioneering program.
Last fall, EMSE opened an active learning classroom, thanks to the generosity of Kevin and Kelly Fritzmeyer. This state-of-the-art classroom is already improving how faculty interact with students and teach topics critical to our discipline and the Kummer College. It's also being used as a model for additional classrooms on the Missouri S&T campus.
A story on Sophia Rowland highlights the powerful combination of engineering and management, allowing her to work in nearly any industry and technological area without feeling limited by her degree. She earned her bachelor’s degree in May and now works at Boeing, one of several companies that tried to hire her. Dawson Jeffers, a current undergraduate student in engineering management with an emphasis in mechanical engineering, is quickly discovering that the “best-of-both-worlds” scenario of combining engineering and management allows him to obtain the skills necessary to continue being a technical entrepreneur, a passion since high school.
Alumnus Kathy Walker, who earned her master’s degree in engineering management, and who serves as a member of both the EMSE Academy of Engineering Management and the Missouri S&T Board of Trustees, continues to give back to the university. In addition to joining the Kummer Institute Foundation Board of Directors, she has shared lessons learned throughout her career with students in S&T’s Kummer Vanguard Scholars program. Fortunately, the Academy of Engineering Management at Missouri S&T provides a mentoring program to all EMSE students, and, in April and November ceremonies, inducted six new members in 2023 — Julia Hilton, James Koch, Tom Mertens, Bryan Niehaus, Sondra Rotty and Katie Voss — to help mentor and support EMSE students and programs.
You can also read about Dr. Casey Canfield, an assistant professor who is leading an awarded research grant from the Public Interest Technology University Network. The grant will help increase cross-disciplinary interactions among government, industry and social impact organizations, helping the Kummer College realize its economic development and community engagement goals.
Finally, please allow me to thank everyone who contributes to the success of our department and the university. Your continued support of our campus is truly enriching the experience and education of our students.
For this, and more, we thank you.
