Trustees honor professor; approve veterinary dean

Trustees also approved two program name changes at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a new bachelor's degree in computer graphics technology at New Albany. Board members also voted to authorize the use of funds from the Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for Engineering Education to support several initiatives in the College of Engineering from 2007 through 2009.

Karl Smith

Trustees approved the appointment of Karl Smith as Cooperative Learning Professor in Engineering Education. Designated professorships honor individuals whose academic achievements have been internationally recognized or who have made a unique contribution to the university through scholarship, research, teaching or leadership functions. Purdue now has 130 designated professors.

"Dr. Smith is a prime example of how these designated professorships can attract and retain high-caliber faculty at Purdue," Provost Sally Mason said. "Not only will he make a difference at Purdue, he is making a difference in his field with his work through National Science Foundation-supported programs and his published works."

Smith came to Purdue this year from the University of Minnesota, where he was Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering.

Smith's research and development interests include: building rigorous research capacity in engineering education; the role of cooperation and teamwork in learning and design; problem formulation, modeling and knowledge engineering; and project and knowledge management and leadership.

Smith earned bachelor's and master's degrees in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1969 and 1972, respectively, and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1980.

He has served as co-coordinator for the Bush Faculty Development Program for Excellence and Diversity in Teaching at the University of Minnesota. He also was associate director for education at the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Interfacial Engineering at the University of Minnesota and a member of the board of directors of the Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching and Learning. He was elected a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education in 1998. He has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on numerous NSF-funded engineering education research projects.

Smith has written eight books and published numerous articles on the active learning strategies of cooperative learning and structured controversy, teamwork and project management, problem formulation and modeling, and engineering education research. He conducts workshops on active and cooperative learning, teamwork, and project and knowledge management and leadership.

In other business, trustees approved Reed as dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, effective Jan. 2. Reed joins Purdue from the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation at Michigan State University where he has been chairperson.

Willie Reed

"Willie Reed was chief of Purdue's Avian Diseases Diagnostic Service before he went on to be a leader at MSU, and we wholeheartedly welcome his return," Mason said. "His new colleagues in veterinary medicine are making great progress in research that will ultimately create better understanding of treatment and prevention of both human and animal diseases, and they await his arrival with enthusiasm."

Reed earned his bachelor's degree in animal and poultry science and his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala., in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He subsequently earned a doctorate in veterinary pathology from Purdue in 1982.

Trustees also approved a new bachelor's degree in computer graphics technology in New Albany under the administration of Purdue Statewide Technology at West Lafayette. This program will produce graduates for existing and emerging jobs and careers in marketing, education and training, entertainment, and communications.

"Data from the College of Technology show that 80 percent of graduates from statewide technology locations stay and work in the state of Indiana, making this delivery mechanism an important factor in reversing the 'brain drain,'" Mason said.

The new program will be built from the existing associate degree program in computer graphics technology in New Albany.

Board members also approved a name change for two degree programs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The associate of science degree program in civil engineering technology will be changed to construction engineering management technology. The bachelor's degree in construction technology will be construction engineering management technology.

The board also gave approval to a proposal from the Vincent P. Reilly Committee to use $4.5 million from the Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for Engineering Education to support the College of Engineering.

The $10.2 million Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for Engineering Education was established in 1970 to promote excellence in the field. The sum is being distributed among four engineering initiatives: undergraduate engineering education, graduate education improvement, faculty and staff recruitment, and raising the visibility of engineering research.

Vincent P. Reilly, who received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1922, bequeathed approximately $4.5 million to Purdue in 1969 for promoting the achievement of excellence in engineering education. Since 1970 the Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for Engineering Education has supported numerous educational endeavors in engineering.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Sources: Sally Mason, (765) 494-9709, sfmason@purdue.edu

Willie Reed, contact Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Karl Smith, (765) 496-9030, smith511@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Related news release:
Purdue names new dean of School of Veterinary Medicine

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