Summer 2005
NEWS
News From SUNY
• SUNY receives prestigious Sloan Foundation award to create first-ever online bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
State University of New York Interim Chancellor John R. Ryan has announced that the University is the recipient of a $300,000 grant award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the creation of the world’s first online bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
The award announcement represents the culmination of eighteen months of planning and collaboration among three SUNY Schools of Engineering: the University at Buffalo (UB), Stony Brook University and Binghamton University; the extraordinary efforts of their respective deans, Mark Karwan, Yacov Shamash and Charles R. Westgate, and the Office of Learning Environments, part of the System Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
“The State University of New York very much appreciates the continuing generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for our distance learning programs,” said Ryan. “SUNY’s position as a national and world leader in distance learning is clearly demonstrated by our continuing growth in online enrollment, the increasing number and variety of courses and degree programs offered online, and through the recognition and financial assistance provided by independent organizations such as the Sloan Foundation.”
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has provided more than $4.5 million to support the distance learning efforts of the State University of New York since 1994.
“This signals a major trend in education and online learning,” said Frank Mayadas, program director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “American workers can now get the higher skills they need to compete in an era of off-shoring and globalization and do their regular jobs at the same time.”
The planned program will represent a breakthrough for the world of online learning and for SUNY on several fronts:
• It will be the first online degree in the scientific or technical disciplines of this stature coming from campuses in the Research I Carnegie classification; and
• It will drive innovation in online learning technology and pedagogy, requiring the development of laboratory simulations, mathematical notation and group project collaboration on technical subjects and designs.
• The University envisions a large international population for this program. The online degree creates broader reach to these students.
“Geography will no longer be a barrier to a SUNY education for engineering students who live outside this state, or for that matter, this nation, or who cannot attend classes on campus because of professional and personal commitments,” said Mark Karwan, Ph.D., dean of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
“The development and implementation of this program will have far-reaching impact on engineering education in the U.S. and the world. This program will provide SUNY with a leadership position in engineering education,” said Yacov Shamash, Ph.D., vice president/economic development of Stony Brook University, and dean, of its College of Engineering of Applied Sciences