Strategic Vision

FY 2023-28

Updated: 5/2024

Research and Innovation

We protect and improve life on Earth through research that creates sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure.

We engage in collaborative and innovative research to create sustainable climate-resilient infrastructure that benefits humankind while enhancing the earth’s physical and biological resources.

Vision

Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) is a department that brings diverse expertise to generate resilient, sustainable, and just solutions to pressing global challenges facing our societies. We are home to internationally recognized faculty, scholars, and facilities that enable state-of-the-art research and innovation related to our physical infrastructure and natural environment. CEAE is the destination for outstanding domestic and international doctoral students, who pursue fundamental and applied research at the frontier of their sub-fields or across disciplines. We are also an incubator of entrepreneurship and community engagement in our research, with the goal of improving technologies, processes, policies, and practices that support thriving communities and environments.

 

In the next five years, we will:

  • Be a connected community of experts working in civil, environmental, and architectural engineering.
  • Be a department recognized for research and innovation in fundamental and applied engineering, underpinned by sustainability and resilience, benefiting Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ and the world.
  • Be a department which internally and externally communicates our research, innovation, and teaching impact from all faculty, staff, and students in an inclusive manner.

To enable this vision, we will:

  • Increase our research partnerships with Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ’s unique institutes (CIRES, IBS, INSTAAR, RASEI) as well as strategic national labs and governmental research organizations (NREL, SANDIA, NIST, USGS, NOAA) with whom our faculty collaborate.
  • Create a faculty and staff recognition committee in partnership with our newly formed external advisory board, to promote career advancement of individuals, department-wide research development and external marketing.
  • In the next 3-5 years, enhance the national and international standing of the CEAE department by increasing faculty excellence and representation in areas of national and international research need.
  • Demonstrate the societal impact of our research and teaching at the campus, state, and global levels by showcasing our professional and service contributions to the broader community through professional newsletters, social and mainstream media, external advisory boards, and other venues.

Education

We inspire future leaders through education that cultivates critical thinking, community, and care for society and the environment.

We inspire and mentor the next generation of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering leaders from diverse backgrounds through education that cultivates critical thinking, community, and care for society and the planet.

Vision

We embrace a holistic approach to education and learning that supports diverse learners and meets the increasingly interdisciplinary needs of a changing world. We are the department of choice for many students in the state of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ and across the nation that seek to further their education and training in the service of their community, infrastructure, environment, and the planet. We embrace multiple modalities of educational engagement and invest in the academic and career success of all our students, including those underrepresented and historically marginalized. CEAE is home to nationally recognized engineering educators, who are invested in recruiting and developing future leaders in industry, academia, and government agencies.

 

In the next five years, we will:

  • Be a community that integrates academic, professional, and research experiences by delivering a comprehensive range of educational approaches to support diverse learners.
  • Be a department that inspires and challenges students to grow as professionals and life-long learners, ready to meet the increasingly interdisciplinary needs of our changing world. 
  • Be a department of choice for undergraduate and graduate students committed to engineering resilient, sustainable, and just solutions to society’s most critical challenges, including climate change.

To enable this vision, we will:

  • Within 3 years, develop strategies for the implementation of successful Professional MS degree programs.
  • In 5 years, develop and engage in a department-wide Teaching Effectiveness and Excellence workshop series that has at least one event each semester and supports a shared living document.
  • In 3 years, we will develop and engage in graduate student recruitment where faculty travel to at least 2 strategic institutions each fall to discuss the department’s graduate programs and mentor potential graduate students.
  • In the next 5 years, streamline existing technical elective course offerings to enable the department to provide classes of interest across the college, emphasizing transferable methods and topics of social impact.

Inclusion

We embrace and celebrate diversity and invest in continuous learning and sharing to benefit our community.

We embrace and celebrate the diversity of all our students, staff, and faculty by fostering an inclusive community and investing in continuous learning and sharing to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Vision

CEAE is a department where we value and invest in a deeper understanding of the institutional and cultural obstacles for recruiting and retaining diverse students, staff and faculty. We seek to co-author a changed culture that removes barriers and enhances access to education, resources, and services to all our members, including those from historically marginalized backgrounds.

 

In the next five years, we will:

  • Be a community of students, staff, and faculty of all ranks that shares an inclusive sense of belonging, support, respect, and engagement at local and broader levels.  
  • Be a community that attracts, welcomes, and supports students, staff, and faculty from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.  
  • Be a community where students, staff, and all faculty are given the opportunity to have their voices heard in department decision-making and visioning.

To enable this vision, we will:

  • Develop and foster an inclusive culture of belonging for students, staff, and faculty of all ranks by increasing the opportunities for professional and social interactions. 
  • Improve retention by developing mechanisms to regularly solicit and act on feedback from students, staff, and faculty of all ranks. 
  • Increase transparency by creating more opportunities for our CEAE community to provide their input throughout decision-making processes.