The Ogden College of Science and Engineering encompasses the applied and basic sciences. It is composed of the departments of Agriculture; Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences; Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science, Engineering; Geography and Geology; Mathematics; Physics and Astronomy; and various pre-professional and interdisciplinary programs.
Ogden College’s efforts to increase student learning through a rich variety of educational opportunities are exemplified by the following:
The Applied Research and Technology Program (ARTP) of Distinction is a multidisciplinary program consisting of 14 scientific and service-oriented Centers. These Centers provide unique opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to transition from academia to the workplace or to graduate educational programs through participation in faculty supervised, hands-on applied research and technological projects that help solve problems for the community, state, and nation. Since the ARTP’s inception, grant activity has increased from a yearly average of just over $1M to $14.5M last year. Approximately 104 faculty, 340 undergraduate students, and 60 graduate students were involved in the ARTP last year alone. In addition, grants and contracts have helped build capacity to involve students through the hiring of 52 postdoctoral scholars, visiting scholars, and technicians. Center interaction with industry and the Innovation and Commercialization Center has led to $993,000 in payroll in start-up companies in the Business Accelerator at the WKU Research and Development Center.
Beginning in the fall of 2007, the Academy for Mathematics and Science in Kentucky will enroll 120 of the brightest high school juniors and seniors from across the Commonwealth. Ogden College will help engage and challenge these bright young individuals to achieve their full potential for intellectual growth.
Many improvements have been completed or are underway for the College’s facilities. The state-of-art Complex for Engineering and Biological Sciences, which opened in the spring of 2005, was designed with the purpose of engaging students in hands-on projects. The College also broke ground on Snell Hall, another modern classroom building, in the summer of 2007. In addition, the renovation of Science and Technology Hall and Thompson Complex Center Wing will occur within the next several years. It is also anticipated that a national United States Department of Agriculture / Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) laboratory building will replace Thompson Complex North Wing in the near future.
Ogden College of Science and Engineering is addressing the challenge of becoming a “leading American University with international reach” by engaging more students in study abroad opportunities. Highlights of these activities include students using biotechnology in Kenya to enforce laws protecting large game animals from poaching and students helping southwestern provinces in China cope with problems of water shortage and contamination from heavy metals. Students have been engaged in similar activities on most continents.
The Ogden College of Science and Engineering Science Alliance prepares new highly qualified math and science teachers for elementary, middle and high schools. It also provides valuable professional development opportunities for practicing teachers, and ensures alignment of secondary and postsecondary curricula. In addition, faculty members and the ARTP have engaged more than 2,000 middle and high school students in math and science activities on campus, such as the LEGO First robotics competition, the Science Olympiad, and the Geography Bee.
Ogden College of Science and Engineering has a cooperative agreement with the Bowling Green USDA/ARS national laboratory. Faculty and students within the college collaborate with the six research scientists located on the WKU farm in solving growing animal waste management problems for farmers both in Kentucky and nationwide.
The College promotes the involvement of women in mathematics and science. Each year more than 180 girls attend a day-long “Girls in Science Day” and participate in hands-on math and science activities.
Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions in engineering have received regional and national honors. In addition, two students from Ogden were awarded prestigious Barry M. Goldwater scholarships and another received a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education, to study abroad. Pre-professional programs, such as Pre-Veterinary, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Dentistry, and Pre-Pharmacy, have a long tradition of excellence. Students graduating in these curricula have gone to such schools as Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania State University, Emory University, Auburn University, University of Alabama Birmingham, Wake Forest University, and Mayo Clinic, in addition to the University of Kentucky.
Ogden is home to two endowed chairs and nine endowed professorships, which include: the Kenneth E. and Irene S. Hall Professorship in Civil Engineering, the Lancaster Professorship, the LECO Professorship, the James L. “Bud” Layne Professorship in Mechanical Engineering, the W.M. and Ann A. McCormack Chair in Physics, the W.M. and Ann A. McCormack Chair in Biotechnology, the William M. McCormack Professorship, the James D. Scott Professorship in Civil Engineering, the Robinson Professorship, the Walter N. Scott Professorship in Physiology, the Sumpter Professorship.
Ogden College of Science and Engineering has a bold vision for the future in support of WKU’s vision to be a “leading American university with international reach.” Specific goals for the New Century of Spirit Campaign include:
Renovation of the Hardin Planetarium
A $1 million renovation of the projection system in the planetarium is desirable for a number of reasons. Numerous courses in Physics and Astronomy are taught in the planetarium, and with the new projector system it can also be used for courses in other disciplines. In addition, more than 11,000 P-12 school children attend shows at the planetarium each year, and this number could be greatly increased. Summer teacher workshops at the planetarium could also be enhanced. Finally, the facility could be used as a great recruitment tool with enhanced audio-visual capabilities.
Engaging Students for Success in a Global Society
Engaging students in discipline-related projects - The College already engages students in real-life activities that develop them into professionals and productive citizens. Building on the ARTP model, endowments to establish an undergraduate research institute that provides student travel and supplies for research projects or provides for summer research programs would establish permanency in our efforts to engage students. Also, establishing endowments for graduate fellowships would strengthen our graduate programs, enhance our undergraduate programs through the influence of graduate mentors, and raise the academic quality of our graduate programs by attracting the best students.
Ogden College has a vision for an educational experience for students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics that is unique and that takes students to a higher level of critical thinking. This hands-on approach, which allows students become professionals in their disciplines by applying classroom knowledge to meet challenges of our constituents, has produced graduates who have been extremely successful. In order to expand this concept throughout the college, endowments will be needed to expand our capacity to implement this concept to its fullest potential.
Civic Engagement - The College involves students in civic activities, such as the establishment of a WKU Habitat for Humanities Chapter through the Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences Institute of the ARTP. Establishing endowments to expand and institutionalize these efforts is desirable. Another extremely important part of civic engagement for Ogden is reaching out and serving the needs of P-12 teachers and students. Ogden College is very active in this area, and enhanced support through gifts or endowments would greatly benefit these efforts.
Global Engagement - Several programs that foster student engagement are emerging that involve collaboration with institutions in other countries, thereby truly giving our students a global perspective. These programs include our aforementioned partnerships in Kenya and China, as well as similar programs in most of the continents. The need to expand these efforts will require private endowment and gift-in-kind support, such as computers and special equipment.
Expanding the Capacity for Faculty to engage students - Additional Endowed Chairs, Professorships, Visiting Scholars, and technical professionals are greatly needed if the faculty is to expand their capacity to engage students. Ogden College of Science and Engineering prides itself for engaging students in a variety of discipline-related projects, which requires extensive time and effort on the part of the faculty. In order to engage more students, we must expand the capacity of faculty by attracting additional outstanding scholars and by bringing in visiting scholars and technical professionals who can engage more students.
Meeting facility needs and flexibility to meet new opportunities to engage students - Ogden College also seeks endowments to support equipment necessary to engage students and provide them a high quality education in the sciences and engineering. Unrestricted gifts to the College will allow us to meet these changing needs as priorities evolve. Naming rights for rooms and buildings are available to recognize such unrestricted gifts. Naming opportunities exist for the Hardin Planetarium auditorium, the Complex for Engineering and Biological Sciences, and many lab facilities within this new building. More naming opportunities will arise with for and within each of the building additions and renovations that are underway or are planned for the near future. These funds for excellence could support study abroad, student travel in general, faculty development, start-up money for new faculty, and a reduction in lab fees.
Increase enrollment of qualified students through scholarships - The number of scholarships for students who fall in the ACT 24-28 range and for students above ACT 28 needs to be increased. In particular, students with ACT scores between 24 and 28 are not eligible for the larger scholarships, but many of these students have a great potential for success in math and science. The establishment of additional scholarships at all levels is very important for increasing enrollments in Ogden College of Science and Engineering.