ABET

Washington, D.C. – Signatories of the Washington Accord met last week in Washington, D.C., and elected as Chair of the accord Dr. Winfred M. Phillips, past ABET President and current Vice President for Research at the University of Florida. This is the second time an ABET representative has been elected Chair of the accord; the first was in 1997. Prof. Hu Hanrahan of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) was elected as Deputy Chair.

In addition to selecting a new Chair, accord members conferred full signatory status upon two accrediting bodies—Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK)—and provisional membership status to three accrediting bodies—the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL); the National Board of Accreditation of the All India Council for Technical Education (NBA-AICTE); and the Russian Association for Engineering Education (RAEE). A provisional member of the accord must demonstrate that the accreditation system for which it has responsibility appears to be conceptually similar to those of the other signatories of the Washington Accord. By conferring provisional status, the signatories have indicated that they consider the provisional signatory to have the potential capability to reach full signatory status; however, the awarding of provisional status does not in any way imply a guarantee of the granting of full signatory status.

Established in 1989, the Washington Accord is a multinational, mutual recognition agreement of the substantial equivalency of the engineering accreditation systems of member signatories. The agreement recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by member signatories and recommends that the graduates of those accredited programs in any of the signatory jurisdictions be recognized by the other jurisdictions as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering.

“For 75 years, ABET has been committed to ensuring quality in engineering education locally and for nearly as long to sharing best practices globally,” explained ABET Executive Director Dr. George D. Peterson.

“I am honored to have been chosen as Chair of the Washington Accord,” commented Dr. Phillips. “ABET’s leadership in the international arena continues to further its commitment to quality assurance.”

The Chair and Deputy Chair of the Washington Accord each serve a two-year term and may be elected to serve up to two consecutive terms.

The Washington Accord, signed in 1989, is an international agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by those bodies and recommends that graduates of programs accredited by any of the signatory bodies be recognized by the other bodies as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering. The signatories of the Washington Accord are ABET; Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK); Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of Engineers Canada (CEAB-EC); Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA); Engineering Council UK (ECUK); Engineers Australia; Engineers Ireland; Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE); IEET (Chinese Taipei); Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES); Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ); and Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE). More information on the Washington Accord may be obtained by visiting www.washingtonaccord.org.

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for 75 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through workshops, consultancies, memoranda of understanding, and mutual recognition agreements, such as the Washington Accord. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2006

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., the accreditation body dedicated to ensuring quality in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education, approved its 2006-2007 leadership at its spring Board of Directors meeting, held in Baltimore on Saturday, March 18, 2006.

The following individuals were elected to the ABET Board of Directors for the 2006-2007 term and will be installed during the fall 2006 ABET Board of Directors meeting to be held in Tampa, Florida:

L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, Ph.D., P.E., was voted the 2006-2007 President-Elect. Currently, Fletcher is serving the third year of a three-year term on the ABET Board of Directors representing the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Fletcher became an ABET program evaluator for mechanical engineering in 1977 and has since served as a member of the ABET Board of Directors representing AIAA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He was selected as a Fellow of ABET in 1991 and received the Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award, ABET’s highest honor, in 2002. Fletcher is currently the Thomas A. Dietz Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a Regents Professor at Texas A&M University in College Station. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and his Ph.D. from Arizona State University, all of which are in mechanical engineering.

Janet B. Perper was elected ABET Secretary for 2006-2007. Perper has represented the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) on the ABET Board of Directors since 2001 and has been a member of the ABET International Activities Council since 1999. She began serving as an ABET program evaluator for industrial hygiene programs in 1995 and represented AIHA on the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) prior to taking her position on the Board. In 2004, Perper retired from her position as Vice President of Carr and Perper, Inc., a Glenside, Pennsylvania-based consulting firm focusing on chemical safety management, industrial hygiene, and hazard communication. Perper holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College) and a master’s degree in occupational health from the Center for Environmental Studies in Temple University’s School of Pharmacy.

Daniel J. Bradley, Ph.D., will begin the first year of his two-year term as ABET Treasurer in 2006-2007. At present, Bradley chairs the ABET Board of Directors’ Finance Committee and represents the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) on the ABET Board of Directors. He served as an ABET program evaluator in petroleum engineering and was a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) from 1994 through 1999. Bradley has served as President of Fairmont State University in West Virginia since February of 2001. Previously, he held a number of teaching and administrative posts at Montana Tech of the University of Montana. Bradley received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Michigan State University. In addition, he earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Montana Tech and a master’s degree, also in petroleum engineering, from the University of Tulsa.

Larry A. Kaye, Ph.D., P.E., was elected to serve a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee, beginning in 2006-2007. Kaye represents the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) on the ABET Board of Directors and is currently chairing the Advisory Committee for ABET’s Participation Project. Kaye was a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) from 1994 to 2004 and was EAC Chair in 2002-2003. He was inducted as a Fellow of ABET in 2005. Kaye has more than 30 years of experience with various divisions and affiliates of ExxonMobil Corporation and currently serves as a Planning Advisor for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company in Fairfax, Virginia. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from New York University and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Yale University.

In addition, the following individuals will serve in leadership roles on the ABET Board of Directors for the 2006-2007 term:

William S. Clark, P.E., will serve as the 2006-2007 ABET President. Clark is currently the President-Elect. Clark joined the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) representative in 1987 and served as TAC’s Chair in 1994-1995. He subsequently led the TAC criteria committee that wrote the initial version of the outcomes-based technology evaluation criteria, now referred to as TC2K. A Fellow of ABET, Clark was selected as one of IEEE’s three Representative Directors to the ABET Board of Directors in 2001. Clark is currently a finance director at BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University and master’s degrees in business administration and in economics, both
from the University of New Orleans.

James R. Plasker, P.E., will begin the second year of a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee. Plasker became an ABET program evaluator for the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) in 1990 and served as the Chair of the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) for 2002-2003. Immediately prior to becoming a Board Representative, he represented ACSM on the ABET Board of Directors. Plasker is the Executive Director of ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in engineering surveys from Oregon State University.

Richard C. Seagrave, Ph.D., currently ABET President, will become Past-President in 2006-2007. Previously, Seagrave had served as Secretary for the ABET Board of Directors for two years, as Board Liaison to the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC), and on the International Activities Committee of ABET. He was a member of the EAC representing the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) from 1992 to 1999 and served as the EAC’s Chair in 1996-1997. In 1999, he was named an ABET Fellow. Seagrave is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rhode Island and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2006

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., re-elected two of its current Public Members at its spring Board of Directors meeting, held in Baltimore on Saturday, March 18, 2006. Barbara Martin and Amy O’Leary will begin their second three-year terms at the conclusion of the 2006 ABET Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, this October.

Barbara Martin is recently retired from the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), where she managed the Department’s employee and organizational development programs, employee safety, workers’ compensation, and risk management programs. During her tenure, she helped institute an engineering technician certification program, an engineering internship program, career ladders for maintenance and safety staff, an employee assistance program that became a benefit for all Montana state employees, and a personal finance program for MDT employees. Martin is a former president of the National Transportation Training Directors. She currently chairs the Management & Leadership Section of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and is the former chair of the TRB Management and Productivity Committee.

Amy O’Leary, Ph.D., is an Associate Director at the Virginia Transportation Research Council in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she leads the Environment and Business Practices research group. O’Leary’s specialties in her 15-year career at the Research Council have been policy, legislative, and organizational research. She chairs the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Social and Economic Factors in Transportation and is also a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Public Involvement in Transportation.

There are five Public Members on the ABET Board of Directors. Public Members are not affiliated with applied science, computing, engineering, or technology through either training or practice. They are voting members of the Board and may serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. In addition to Martin and O’Leary, the following individuals will serve as Public Members on the ABET Board of Directors for the 2006-2007 term:

Sylvia L. Alexander will begin the second year of her first three-year term as a Public Member. Alexander is the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Administrative Manager and Personnel Liaison in the agency’s Bureau of Finance & Administration and Executive Offices.

George R. Boggs, Ph.D., will serve the second year of his second three-year term as a Public Member for 2006-2007. Boggs is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Peter J. Haas, Ph.D., will serve the third year of his first three-year term as a Public Member. Haas is a Professor of Political Science and Transportation Management for the Department of Political Science/Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., the recognized accrediting body for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, installed new members to its Board of Directors on October 29, 2005. New Board member installations occur each fall at the biannual meeting of the ABET Board of Directors. The following new members will begin their three-year terms in 2005-2006:

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through agreements such as the Washington Accord, and offers educational credentials evaluation services through ECEI to those educated abroad. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., selected William S. Clark, P.E., as 2005-2006 President-Elect at its spring Board of Directors meeting, held in Baltimore on March 19, 2005. Clark will be installed at the conclusion of the 2005 ABET Annual Meeting in San Diego this October.

Clark is presently serving the second year of a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee. He began his association with ABET in 1984 as a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), serving as a program evaluator for engineering technology programs. He joined the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) in 1987 and served as its Chair in 1994-95. He subsequently led the committee that wrote the initial version of the outcomes-based criteria for engineering technology now referred to as TC2K. Clark was named an ABET Fellow in 1996, and he was appointed as one of IEEE’s three Representative Directors to the ABET Board of Directors in 2001.

Presently, Clark serves as a finance director for BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked for the company or one of its subsidiaries for 31 years and has held various engineering and technical management positions. In 1994 he moved into finance, where he currently manages an organization responsible for profitability analysis in BellSouth.

Clark earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University and holds master’s degrees in business administration and in economics, both from the University of New Orleans.

As President-Elect, Clark will be responsible for chairing ABET’s Educational Policy Committee and for acting as Program Chair for the 2006 ABET Annual Meeting. He will also serve as a voting member of the Executive Committee and will succeed to the office of President in the event that 2005-2006 President Richard C. Seagrave, Ph.D., is unable to perform his duties.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., the accreditation body dedicated to ensuring quality in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education, announced its 2005-2006 leadership at its spring Board of Directors meeting, held in Baltimore on March 19, 2005.

The following individuals were elected to the ABET Board of Directors for the 2005-2006 term and will be installed during the fall 2005 ABET Board of Directors meeting to be held in San Diego:

William S. Clark, P.E., was voted the 2005-2006 President-Elect. At present, Clark is serving his second year of a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee. Clark joined the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) representative in 1987 and served as TAC’s Chair in 1994-95. He subsequently led the TAC criteria committee that wrote the initial version of the outcomes-based evaluation criteria, now referred to as TC2K. A Fellow of ABET, Clark was selected as one of IEEE’s three Representative Directors to the ABET Board of Directors in 2001. Clark is currently a finance director at BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta.

James H. Dooley, Ph.D., P.E., was re-elected ABET Secretary for 2005-2006 after serving a one-year term for 2004-2005. Dooley holds engineering degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; University of California at Davis; and the University of Washington. He is a licensed professional engineer in two states and holds six U.S. patents. Dooley is currently the President and CEO of Silverbrook Limited and serves as Executive Manager of Forest Concepts in Federal Way, Washington.

James R. Plasker, P.E., was elected to serve a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee, beginning in 2005-2006. Plasker currently represents the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) on the ABET Board of Directors. He has served as an ABET program evaluator for ACSM since 1990 and as the Chair of the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) for 2002-2003. Plasker is the Executive Director of ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in engineering surveys from Oregon State University.

In addition, the following individuals will serve in leadership roles on the ABET Board of Directors for the 2005-2006 term:

Richard C. Seagrave, Ph.D., will serve as the 2005-2006 ABET President. Seagrave is currently the President-Elect. During his five years on the ABET Board of Directors, Seagrave served on the International Activities Committee of ABET and as Board Liaison to the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC). He was a member of the EAC representing the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) from 1992 to 1999 and served as the EAC’s Chair in 1996-97. In 1999, he was named an ABET Fellow. Seagrave is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rhode Island and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Richard O. Anderson, P.E., currently ABET President, will become Past-President in 2005-2006. He has been a member of ABET’s International Activities Committee and Strategic Planning Task Group and presently serves on the Engineering Credentials Evaluation International Resource Council. From 1994 to 1999, he was a member of the EAC representing the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and served as an ASCE program evaluator from 1991 to 1993. Anderson is a Principal Engineer with Somat Engineering, Inc., Detroit, Michigan, and a licensed professional engineer in eight states. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering (geotechnical) from Michigan Technological University and his M.S. in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Roger M. Zimmerman, Ph.D., P.E., was appointed by the ABET Executive Committee in February to serve as Acting ABET Treasurer. Elected Treasurer Allen I. Ormsbee, Ph.D., is currently on a medical leave of absence. Zimmerman has represented the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) on the ABET Board of Directors since 2001. John Church will represent NSPE during this interim period. Zimmerman has served as a Board Representative to the Executive Committee since October 2004 and on the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) from 1996 to 2001. His professional career spans several positions at New Mexico State University, including Associate Dean of Engineering, and at Sandia National Laboratories, where he was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff and Project Manager. Currently, Zimmerman is the owner of Engineering Analyses, LLC, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Zimmerman earned his Ph.D. in structural mechanics from the University of Colorado.

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 30 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through agreements such as the Washington Accord, and offers educational credentials evaluation services through ECEI to those educated abroad. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., elected two Public Members at its spring Board of Directors meeting, held in Baltimore on March 19, 2005. Sylvia L. Alexander will begin her first three-year term, and George R. Boggs will begin his second three-year term at the conclusion of the 2005 ABET Annual Meeting in San Diego this October.

Sylvia L. Alexander is the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Administrative Manager and Personnel Liaison in the agency’s Bureau of Finance and Administration and Executive Offices. Having held this position since 2002, she serves the Bureau’s Contract Services, Financial Operations, Business and Administrative Services, and Performance Excellence Divisions. In addition, she chairs the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Diversity Team and the agency’s 2005 Leadership Conference in its centennial celebration. Previously, she has served as the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Human Resources Manager, a position responsible for recruiting, selecting, and managing compensation and benefits for the agency’s more than 3,000 employees. Alexander studied Interdisciplinary Social Science and Public Policy at Michigan State University.

George R. Boggs, Ph.D., is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), which represents more than 1,100 associate degree-granting institutions and some 12 million students. Boggs has held positions as a faculty member, a division chair, and an associate dean of instruction at Butte College in California, and he served as the Superintendent/President of Palomar College, also in California, for 15 years. Furthermore, he has acted as a member of the Committee on Undergraduate Science Education of the National Research Council and has served on several National Science Foundation panels and committees. Boggs holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He was first selected for the position of Public Member for the 2002-2003 accreditation cycle and began service as Chair of the Public Member Committee in November 2004.

There are four Public Members on the ABET Board of Directors. Public Members are not affiliated with applied science, computing, engineering, or technology through either training or practice. They are voting members of the Board and may serve up to two consecutive three-year terms.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2004

Baltimore, MD - Richard C. Seagrave, Ph.D., has been named ABET, Inc., President-Elect for 2004-2005. The selection was made at the spring ABET Board of Directors meeting, held March 20, 2004, in Baltimore, MD. Seagrave will assume the position in November 2004.

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 30 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,600 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through agreements such as the Washington Accord, and offers educational credentials evaluation services to those educated abroad through ECEI. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.