Stanford is training a new type of engineer for a fast-changing world and James Plummer wants to get the word out that students needn’t be a total techie to apply.
“We’re looking for kids who think of the world in terms of finding solutions to big problems, like global warming, international development, the environment,” Plummer, dean of the School of Engineering, said in an interview. “We want to attract students … who might have a wider world view” than those in the traditional math- and science-laden programs featured at the nation’s top technical schools.
“We are not – and should not be – a technical institute,” Plummer told the university’s Faculty Senate last month. “If (students) come here, they can take advantage of all the other pieces of this campus, which are equally as good as the School of Engineering.”
The approach has advantages when recruiting the kind of students Stanford wants, Plummer said. But it has also brought the engineering school some grief, both from the professional group that accredits it and from the employers who hire the graduates.