Kynoch at the Engineering Alumni Luncheon at Reunion

It is with great pleasure that I bring you the first in a regular series of columns from your Engineering Alumni Council, affectionately known as the "EAC." First, I must ask you, did you even know that an Engineering Alumni Council exists? If not, allow me to explain who we are and what we do.
The EAC is comprised of engineering alumni from across the country. Our purpose is to promote a mutually beneficial relationship between the School of Engineering and our alumni and to further the educational purposes of the School. We represent a wide range of ages, from new graduates to persons who graduated more than 50 years ago. We meet twice each year--on Homecoming and Reunion weekends.
One of our primary objectives is outreach, or what some may refer to as marketing. We consider this effort to be targeted at two audiences. The first audience is our fellow alums. We want to keep you informed of the accomplishments of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and to share with you its growth, goals, and needs.
The second outreach audience is potential employers and others who might have occasion to interact with a Vanderbilt engineer. We want to make sure these people know of the outstanding and unique education of a Vanderbilt engineer. Indeed, we have a very fine school that is blessed by the presence of an excellent College of Arts and Science. Vanderbilt produces highly skilled engineers who can read and write in addition to solving technical problems. Employers who hire Vanderbilt grads say that our engineers are able to adapt to the "real world" faster than most other grads.
In addition to being great engineers, we are able to communicate well and have been "taught" how to constantly learn, change, and grow as situations require. With the lightning pace of technological change, few of us approach our work or solve problems the same way we did 10 years ago...and we will be doing our work differently again in the next 10 years. For this reason, a solid education teaches us how to learn and to apply that education to new challenges. Vanderbilt does a superb job of providing this education, and, in so doing, produces engineers who are also great leaders.
Our leadership ability is evident even within the walls of Vanderbilt, as two of "our own," John Hall and Denny Bottorff, currently serve as president and vice president, respectively, of the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust. In addition, we have five other engineers on the Board of Trust, all of whom were profiled in the last issue of Engineering News. Seven engineers on the Board speaks highly of a Vanderbilt engineering education and our leadership ability.
In April of this year, Faculty Senate Chair Robert Rasmussen, in speaking to the Board of Trust, noted that the University has an obligation to its alumni to "maintain and increase the value of its diploma." His words ring true with me and the other EAC members. We believe we have a duty to communicate the "value" of a Vanderbilt engineer to others who might be prospective employers, clients, or associates of a Vanderbilt engineer. With this focus, the EAC is working with Dean Ken Galloway to promote a Vanderbilt engineering education. One of our outreach vehicles is this column, designed to communicate to you, our alumni. We are also reaching out in other ways to effectively communicate beyond the walls of Vanderbilt. As our programs develop, we hope to see the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering (VUSE) become more highly ranked and to see an increase in the number and caliber of persons applying for admission to VUSE. In doing so, we will raise the value of all of our diplomas.

J. Brent Kynoch, President
Engineering Alumni Council

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