Strategic Plan

The College will attain a global reputation for excellence and professional leadership. We will be a world-class leader, solving critical problems facing our planet and making research and educational contributions on a global scale. We will be an international model for best practices in research, education and outreach. The quality of our students and faculty will be an essential asset to our state and nation.

We will be pioneers in identifying and solving problems that improve human, ecological and environmental conditions on a global scale. We will develop interdisciplinary centers and a funding base to address global grand challenges and reward faculty for their entrepreneurship and scholarship. We will lead the expansion of the world’s knowledge base through discoveries and recognized scholarly publication and information exchange.

We will provide relevant, world-class education for students to enable their professional and personal success, instill institutional pride, promote social responsibility and encourage lifelong involvement and investment in the College. We will be internationally recognized for our scholarship in engineering education, K-12 outreach, quality and diversity of students and distance education programs. Our alumni will be known as leaders of industry, society and academe.

We will be a global leader in facilitating intellectual property and technology transfer, involving faculty, staff, students, industry and government to assist existing companies and encourage the success of start-up companies in North Carolina and beyond. Through our location on Centennial Campus, we will be a leader in developing innovative ways of partnering with industry and government to enhance economic well-being and ensure North Carolina’s global competitiveness and future prosperity.

The College will be an international model for fostering new and improved collaborations and partnerships with industry, alumni, professional associations, government and public sector organizations, and leading international educational institutions. We will lead our respective professions nationally and globally and increase our endowments to a level commensurate with our goals.

We will develop world-class facilities for interdisciplinary research and education. Endowments for scholarships and professorships will attract and retain the best and brightest students and faculty. The College will attract a diverse set of students, staff and faculty into a nurturing environment that rewards excellence and embraces innovation in an entrepreneurial culture. We will have a global virtual presence and infrastructure.

Underlying this vision is a sustained effort to engage and invest in vital areas of research growth and educational need. This strategic vision is highlighted in the graphic (right) and describes the strategic investments in faculty and infrastructure in interdisciplinary thrust areas that provide the greatest potential for attracting external funding and best serve the needs of our nation and state. The common thread running through this vision is a commitment to enhancing student success through the integration of research and education, the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty and students, and the provision of opportunities for interdisciplinary research at both graduate and undergraduate levels. This vision also includes the creation of new academic programs with cutting-edge interdisciplinary focus and systems orientation, industrially relevant and internationally oriented internship and immersion experiences, and sustained investment in the people and infrastructure required for the success of these programs.

We believe that when we hold ourselves, our students and our collaborators accountable for our actions and words, and insist on ethical behavior, we get closer to the truth, make better discoveries, and remain credible, relevant and respected in all our endeavors.

We believe that education is an equalizing agent that facilitates individual and collective growth and economic opportunity.

We believe that a student empowered with a quality education has confidence, is able to take risks, and ultimately has the ability to make the world a better place.

We believe that when we make a difference, our people are inspired, our college remains relevant, and we build a positive worldwide image of the University, the region and North Carolina as a whole.

We believe that the pursuit of excellence sets an example for our students, peers, collaborators, partners and supporters, inspiring them to succeed, and creates an atmosphere that encourages all people to reach their full potential.

We believe that by empowering students to be independent and to pose questions, address issues and find innovative solutions to problems, they have the necessary tools to succeed and are encouraged to continue to pursue learning throughout their lives.

We believe that by creating a climate that respects the dignity of all individuals, we allow and encourage everyone to participate in solutions resulting in more robust discovery, richer innovation and better quality.

During the last five years the College has risen from 34th overall and 18th among public colleges of engineering in the nation to 29th overall and 16th among public institutions in the 2013 US News and World Report graduate engineering rankings. The College’s undergraduate program is ranked 28th overall, 16th among public institutions in the 2012 US News ranking of Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. The College has two departments ranked in the top 10 among their peers nationwide with most of the departments ranked in the top 10-15% of their peers nationwide. The Engineering Online program is one of the largest in the country and the top-ranked distance education engineering master’s degree program for military and veterans in the most recent US News rankings of online programs.

Of equal, if not greater importance is the College’s global ranking of 29th worldwide in the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities in Engineering and Computer Science. Since six of the top 30 are non-US engineering colleges, this corresponds to a ranking of 23rd among US colleges of engineering.

Undergraduate enrollment now exceeds 6,000 students with substantial increases both in numbers and incoming quality of this student population. Total enrollment has grown from 7,500 to more than 9,000 students over the last five years, making the College one of the largest colleges of engineering in the country.

Research expenditures have grown 50%, from less than $100M per year to more than $150M per year between FY06 – FY12, placing the College among the top 10 in the country in this measure of research activity.

Underpinning this growth has been a significant investment in faculty recruitment and retention including the hiring of more than 100 new faculty into the College over the last five years and a net growth of 45 tenure/tenure track faculty. Many of our faculty are world-class leaders in their fields whose many national and international awards provide clear testimony to the very high quality, relevance and impact of their scholarly and industrial contributions. The College is now home to 12 National Academy of Engineering members, 2 recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, 1 Emmy Award winner, more than 55 NSF Career Awardees since 2000 and numerous Fellows of their respective professional societies.

The outstanding quality and leadership of our department heads, center directors, and unit heads, many of whom are also leading researchers and/or prominent national and international leaders in their professional communities, is a major strength that has also played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the College.

The College has received two NSF Engineering Research Center awards in the last five years. The creation of FREEDM and ASSIST is a singular achievement, making the College and NC State the only college of engineering and university, respectively, in the country to lead two NSF ERCs. Coupled with the establishment of CASL, a DOE nuclear reactor design, modeling and innovation hub, the NSA Lablet effort housed in computer science and our significant role in the leadership of the Triangle MRSEC, the College is now home to or a major partner in a number of highly competitive national centers that place it in a category of excellence that rivals its aspirational peers nationally and globally. College faculty have also contributed significantly to the establishment of the Eastman Chemical Center of Excellence on Centennial Campus and to ongoing activities for additional centers in national security and critical infrastructure.

The 54,000-plus alumni of the College have made a significant impact on the transformation of our state from its agricultural roots to the diversified and highly technological economy that exists in North Carolina today. First and foremost has been the impact of our alumni on job creation and development where the existence of a world-class College of Engineering provided them with the opportunity to excel in their professional endeavors and become the primary workforce fueling the technological development of the RTP region and the state. Reports show that well over 20% of all jobs, and a much greater percentage of the higher paying jobs in North Carolina, are in occupations either directly related to engineering and computer science or highly associated occupations. The employment of engineers and computer scientists extends into every sector of the economy, whether it be healthcare, agriculture, biopharmaceuticals, construction, information technology, manufacturing, aerospace, the military and many others. Of equal importance has been their impact on the creation of new jobs in North Carolina through the numerous successful companies they have started in our state. As the flagship college of engineering in the state, it is crucial that the College continue to enhance its status as a world-class engineering school to assure the continued economic development and growth of North Carolina.