Aug. 24, 2006

School of Engineering celebrates 10-year milestone

Share this story

By Anne Buckley

School of Engineering video clip

Henry A. McGee Jr., Ph.D., founding dean of the VCU School of Engineering; Russell Jamison, Ph.D., current dean; and Robert J. Mattauch, Ph.D., who retired as dean earlier this year; cut a large cake to celebrate the school's 10th anniversary at a reception attended by students, faculty and staff. The three are standing in front of a painting of the founding trustees of the School of EngineeringPhoto courtesy: Ash Daniel, VCU Creative Services
Henry A. McGee Jr., Ph.D., founding dean of the VCU School of Engineering; Russell Jamison, Ph.D., current dean; and Robert J. Mattauch, Ph.D., who retired as dean earlier this year; cut a large cake to celebrate the school's 10th anniversary at a reception attended by students, faculty and staff. The three are standing in front of a painting of the founding trustees of the School of EngineeringPhoto courtesy: Ash Daniel, VCU Creative Services

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering marked its 10th anniversary on Aug. 24 with a new dean, who promised that he would build on the tremendous success the school has already achieved.

"It's just a remarkable story that this school of engineering in 10 years has gone from an idea to a really significant and substantial enterprise,” said Russell Jamison, Ph.D., who on July 1 took over as dean.

“On my watch, we’re going to grow,” he said. “This school's going to get bigger both in numbers of students — undergraduate and graduate — and number of faculty.”

Jamison, who took over upon the retirement of Robert J. Mattauch, Ph.D., also pointed to another priority for the School of Engineering.

“We're going to grow our research portfolio so that we are moving ourselves up into the tier of engineering schools that is nationally recognized for all the things we already do here very well," Jamison said.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary, Jamison was joined by Mattauch and founding dean, Henry A. McGee, Jr., Ph.D., as they cut a large cake and met with students and faculty on the first day of classes.

The VCU School of Engineering and the VCU School of Business are major components of VCU’s new Monroe Park Campus Addition, where a new building is being erected for the business school, and a second phase of the engineering school is being built. The new facilities will allow the schools to add about 2,000 students.

The VCU School of Engineering is a 1,200-student school that was established in 1996 to respond to the needs of the international engineering community, business and the manufacturing sectors of both Virginia and the United States. For more information, visit www.egr.vcu.edu.