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In the next five years, we will:

• Amplify and communicate the impacts of our research to our external peers and stakeholders.Ìý
• Define and communicate the importance/excellence of our field of research to the broader ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Engineering community.
• Recognize the contributions of our faculty by giving them more flexibility to pursue research at the frontiers.
• Grow collaborative efforts within the department to leverage expertise across traditional research boundaries.

To enable this vision, we will:

• In 2024, start an ECEE distinguished seminar series and invite top-academic individuals. In 5 years, secure funds to runthe seminar.
• Increase the total number of professional society awards and invited talks/colloquia by 30% in 5 years, via an effort to nominate our colleagues for these honors.
• Increase the number of applications to local/national academic awards and professional society honors.
• In the next 5 years, secure funds to establish two new fellowships for assistant and associate professors and one for an endowed professor.
• Within 3 years, obtain external funding among a diverse group of faculty to grow at least one of the department’s Cross-Cutting Research Themes (CRTs).

In the next five years, we will:

• Increase PhD enrollments to bring student per tenure track (TT) faculty ratio from 3.1 to 5 over the next 5 years.Ìý
• Increase the total number of student credit hours (SCH) produced in the PMP programs from 2019 to 2025 by 50%, and aim to have 50% of PMP students participate in a department event or initiative, such as Professional Passport.
• Online Increase the non-credit revenue by 20% by the end of 2025, increase new student enrollments in online MS-EE by 20% by the end of 2026, and increase the number of credit hours sold by 15% by the end of 2028.
• Increase total student credit hours (SCH) for undergraduates by 30% over the next 5 years.

To enable this vision, we will:

• Increase the effectiveness of recruiting via the following strategies:
  • Offer more fellowships (and fee waivers), with an emphasis on female students and students from underrepresented minority groups.Ìý
  • Incorporate new MS-ECE degree name in marketing by fall’24 and support Coursera’s re-targeted marketing approach to pull EE audience into their platform with clear new messaging.
• Increase marketing reach through revamping PMP web pages to optimize for SEO by fall’24 and transition from external VisionPoint marketing to organic marketing campaign in spring’24.
• Welcome an initial cohort of students enrolled in an online MS in Robotics by academic year 2028-29 (year 5 of program).
• Add at least 3 new online MS-EE courses per year.
• Improve student retention by addressing the structural barriers that students face due to inconsistent course offering which impacts the students’ ability to stay on track and finish their degrees within 4 years. This includes offering core courses over the summer such as ECEN 2250, Introduction to Circuits and Electronics, and ECEN 2350, Digital Logic.
• Perform predictive enrollment modeling to draw students from other majors within the college. This could include increasing the size of courses in high demand such as ECEN 3730, Practical Printed Circuit Board Design, and Quantum courses.
• Collaborate with other committees.

In the next five years, we will:

• Implement an annual climate survey used to inform accountability structures and new initiatives that target equity and inclusion concerns in the department, with the metric of a 2-year statistically significant increase in positive responses to the faculty and staff climate survey relative to the 2021 campus-wide survey.
• See a two-year increase in the number of faculty members sitting in ECEE commencement ceremonies, as a metric of faculty involvement and departmental participation.
• Retain at least 80% of the existing faculty and staff over the next 5 years (without counting retirements). For staff, we consider those promoted to positions within other CEAS departments, especially when a clear promotion path is not available the within ECEE department, to be a success and not a retention concern.
• In five years, achieve recruitment, retention and graduation rates of undergraduates and graduate students that are comparable to those in EE and ECE departments across the United States.

To enable this vision, we will:

• Implement an annual climate survey used to inform accountability structures and new initiatives that target equity and inclusion concerns in the department.
• Continue to provide opportunities for community-building through (at least) monthly social and scientific departmental events, including partnering with existing URM societies for events.
• Coordinate events with larger statewide and national groups (FIRST Robotics) for on-campus demos and tours.
• Advertise graduate student-organized events that are interested in faculty and staff participation.
• Gather/organize a list of all student groups/societies and making sure this gets communicated to all undergrads/grads at beginning of each semester.
• Conduct annual stay interview/one-on-one/internal review with faculty by the department chair.