Getting Started

I begin this adventure at the encouragement of OIT student Drew Loika. I have never considered blogging before, but I feel that I must get with it to be able to communicate with our students. Back to Drew, he's a motivated young man who is interested in what is going on around campus. After reading the President's Report, he came to my office to ask about the current initiative for the Oregon Center for Health Professions.

Apparently there is a perception that the health programs are receiving more attention than our engineering programs. That's what I love about communication. You do your best to share information, but you can never be sure what the other person is taking away from the encounter. It's challenging, and sometimes frustrating, but we all crave interaction with others.

The reality is that it takes all of our programs to make OIT the success it is today. Interestingly, I had an alumnus say to me last week that he was concerned when Larry Blake was president, because Dr. Blake always talked about making OIT the MIT of the west. The alumnus feared that the health programs would be phased out.

I'm personally excited about the work that can be done across degree programs. Soon I'll see a proposal for a new embedded systems degree program that combines the intricate nuances of engineering to create the sophisticated equipment necessary for our allied health programs.

Drew talked about the synergy necessary for corporate success during our meeting. He understands that it is the person with great technical knowledge, communication skills and the ability to reach the lay person who will be best able to contribute positively for an employer.

He had high praise for his faculty and the value of the education received at OIT. This always warms my heart. At the Alumni Awards Banquet each of the honored alums mentioned the importance of the quality faculty members with whom they interacted. (The honored alumni were: Irl Davis, Distinguished Alumnus, president and CEO of A/D Electronics Inc. and A/D Electronics Hong Kong Ltd.; Kevin Searles, Scientific Achievement, senior research engineer for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company; Kevin Noble, Young Professional Achievement, product engineering manager for JELD-WEN Research & Development; and John Vandecoevering, Alumni Spirit, retired engineer who helped establish the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) at OIT.)

I believe that our graduates leave campus with the best education possible, because of the care and support of outstanding OIT faculty.

It is my hope that I will update this blog at least weekly. I want our campus community, and the world, to know what's on my mind. This is a good opportunity to share my thoughts and to keep everyone updated on our progress and challenges.

Check in periodically for new posts. It feels like I should supply a "star date" in the "Captain's Log" just like in the Star Trek episodes.

Well, corny as it may sound, in the words of Spock, "Live long and prosper."