SWE - Fall 2007 - (Page 64) Dr. Gulari also made decisions early in her career that helped prepare her for leadership roles: “Early on, I made a conscious decision to never turn my back on service assignments. Service components, both in the academic and professional realm provide invaluable contacts and experience. My work with the strategic planning commission at Wayne State University, and national involvement with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Council of Chemical Research continue to help in countless ways as I strive to lead the College of Engineering and Science. Network and learn is my motto.” On the pivotal role of department chair — a position that the Women in Engineering Leadership Institute (WELI) has identified as instrumental to female faculty intent upon breaking the glass ceiling — she offers these thoughts: “Experience as a department chair is so valuable. The department is a critical unit in academe. Decisions about hiring, promotion, workload, curriculum, accreditation, are all made at the department level. I would not want to be dean without that experience. Department chair is the most difficult job, being dean is easier — leadership in academe starts at the department level, communication and consensus building are critical.” Family role models also influenced Dr. Gulari. “My father was an M.D. so I suppose my interest in science and math was instilled very early,” she said. “One of my early influences was my maternal grandmother. She was an incredibly accomplished businesswoman in Istanbul. My grandfather was handicapped, making my grandmother a dual-career professional, managing a successful real estate business and looking after her husband. My Ph.D. advisor was an administrator, so early in my academic career I was made aware of the important contributions made by administrative leaders.” Dr. Johnson also credits her family with influencing her career: “My father was an electrical engineer, and my grandfather worked for George Westinghouse, so I was always into electrical and mechanical things. My mother was passionate about education.” Personal/Professional Overlap A rewarding personal life and successful career are important to all three deans. Dr. Gulari summed up her approach: “I was committed to building a successful career AND having a rich, fulfilling personal life. I suppose one would say that I wanted to have it all in that I did not want to make sacrifices either in my professional development or in having a family. Now, there were compromises along the way, to be sure, but sacrifices? Not really. I feel that I have achieved a great deal professionally, and my life has been indescribably enriched by the experience of being a mother.” Reflecting on the demands of both an academic career and parenting, Dr. Eibeck said, “Good parenting is related to being a good manager, understanding people, supporting people, having clear and transparent expectations and limitations on behavior.” The personal growth that comes with motherhood has transferred to her career. “I would not be as good a dean if I had not been a mother,” she said. “The job also had a big impact on my family. My kids are 15 and 16 now, and have developed a lot of independence.” A career in academe has provided Dr. Johnson the means to look after work/life balance issues. “Being a faculty member has given me great stability in a career, as well as freedom and flexibility of hours,” she stated. “I was able to take care of my mother when she was ill, I am close to my nieces and How is your institution different as a result of your leadership? N ew departments, new buildings, increased research, and services to students are some of these deans’ accomplishments. Greater national recognition for Texas Tech while maintaining a focus on students is one of Dean Eibeck’s goals. “We are attracting more resources (that means fund raising) and growing in size, both students and faculty. We have a new focus on the first year experience for students and on attracting and keeping more young people in engineering, especially underrepresented students. Last year we formed a committee to address the challenges of starting college (Texas Tech has many first-generation college students) and how to help students develop an engineering identity when most courses in the first year are outside of the college.” Dean Gulari is a relative newcomer to her position, but has already overseen some changes. She observes “I’m just completing my first academic year at Clemson, which means my tenure here is only 10 months. In that time we’ve established a new Department of Engineering and Science Education and a new School of Computing. So, academically we’re growing, and I think that I’ve instilled a sense of vitality in the faculty, staff, and students and generated a sense of excitement about where the college is headed and what the future holds.” At Duke, Dean Johnson has focused on increasing interdisciplinary collaborations and integrating classroom and laboratory learning by “building a team across engineering, medicine, and applied sciences and creating a new interdisciplinary center. We’ve also built a new facility that expands the vision of what engineering can be at Duke, how engineering can work with the other parts of the university. Our faculty is up to 100 from 70 when I started, and with retirements I’ve actually hired about 50 faculty members. Student applications are up 50 percent, retention is up, especially in the crucial first year. We’ve revised our first year curriculum and now we are looking at upper division lab classes to find ways to meld the classroom and the laboratory.” 64 SWE FALL 2007
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