Sent to: Michigan Engineering faculty, staff and students
Welcome, everyone, to a new academic term! The work of a preeminent college of engineering never ceases, yet I hope you had opportunities to reflect, get outside and enjoy time with family and friends over the summer.
The warm welcome I’ve received over the past month is truly appreciated, and I look forward to meeting even more of you through upcoming department visits, presentations and events, and other meetings. Over the next several months, a key focus will be on building a robust understanding of how we have gotten to where we stand today and exploring the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
Throughout my conversations thus far, it’s clear we have a passionate team with a desire to keep getting better. And we have much to celebrate!
As a result of your hard work, our research expenditures grew to $340 million in FY23, a 12.3% increase compared to the previous year. We are celebrating two decades of excellence and innovation in engineering education with the 20th anniversary of CRLT-Engin. Later this fall, we will kick off the second year of our DEI 2.0 plan and host the Big Ten++ Inclusive Excellence in Engineering Education (IE3) Conference. And across the university, we’ll see new events and programming related to the campus-wide Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment and Global Engagement, including registration and voting hubs here on North Campus.
We also reflect upon and celebrate the extraordinary life of U-M President Emeritus and former Michigan Engineering Dean James Duderstadt, who passed away on August 21. His legacy of technical innovation, creativity and equality quite literally can be seen across our campus—even someone who has been on campus for just 28 days knows what it means to “Meet me at the Dude.”
As members of the Michigan Engineering community, we have countless opportunities to effect positive change, solving not only the challenges of today, but making the world a better place for generations to come.
I wish you the best of success as we kick off the fall semester, and I look forward to continuing our work together in the years ahead.
Go Blue!
Karen A. Thole, Ph.D.
Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Aerospace Engineering