I am always excited about reading a new Encounter but am especially excited about this edition. Typically, we tend to think about diversity solely as it relates to race. We may even extend those thoughts to include gender. As the current chair of the Dean's Advisory Board on Diversity, I am pleased that the articles in this special Diversity Encounter take a broader perspective of diversity as it relates to our College. Through these articles, we can view our College of Engineering through the lens of time as we look back on part of our history, as we become witnesses to what we're accomplishing today, and as we imagine the great successes that are to come. The stories illustrate the variety of academic goals and pursuits of our students in addition to how their differing paths brought them to a common place - the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering. From the bird's eye view of this edition, there is a consistent, underlying thread from all the contributors. The article by Dean Tom Landers provides insight through the lens of time and as seen through a kaleidoscope of our technical pursuits and achievements. The welcome from Diversity and MEP Director, Liz Cook and the story about our beloved Wayne Steen further illustrate these perspectives. For those of us who knew him, including many of us on the DABD, the article on Wayne is near and dear to our hearts. It helps paint the picture of a wonderful man who truly cared about students and whose work ethic caused him to do more for students than his job description dictated. He was a man who effortlessly worked with diverse groups of people. You see, Wayne saw and appreciated the differences as well as the commonalities of his students, and through his leadership, others did too. Because Wayne touched so many people, the DABD established an annual scholarship in his honor that is awarded to undergraduate students exhibiting those same admirable characteristics. Kelan Berry is this years scholarship recipient. Jesus Avila was last year's recipient. It is in students like Kelan and Jesus that Wayne's legacy continues. I hope that once you finish reading your Encounter, you'll be as ready to participate in our College's upcoming Centennial festivities as I am, as we set out to celebrate our past, our present, and our future.
I am always excited about reading a new Encounter but am especially excited about this edition. Typically, we tend to think about diversity solely as it relates to race. We may even extend those thoughts to include gender. As the current chair of the Dean's Advisory Board on Diversity, I am pleased that the articles in this special Diversity Encounter take a broader perspective of diversity as it relates to our College. Through these articles, we can view our College of Engineering through the lens of time as we look back on part of our history, as we become witnesses to what we're accomplishing today, and as we imagine the great successes that are to come. The stories illustrate the variety of academic goals and pursuits of our students in addition to how their differing paths brought them to a common place - the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering. From the bird's eye view of this edition, there is a consistent, underlying thread from all the contributors. The article by Dean Tom Landers provides insight through the lens of time and as seen through a kaleidoscope of our technical pursuits and achievements. The welcome from Diversity and MEP Director, Liz Cook and the story about our beloved Wayne Steen further illustrate these perspectives. For those of us who knew him, including many of us on the DABD, the article on Wayne is near and dear to our hearts. It helps paint the picture of a wonderful man who truly cared about students and whose work ethic caused him to do more for students than his job description dictated. He was a man who effortlessly worked with diverse groups of people. You see, Wayne saw and appreciated the differences as well as the commonalities of his students, and through his leadership, others did too. Because Wayne touched so many people, the DABD established an annual scholarship in his honor that is awarded to undergraduate students exhibiting those same admirable characteristics. Kelan Berry is this years scholarship recipient. Jesus Avila was last year's recipient. It is in students like Kelan and Jesus that Wayne's legacy continues. I hope that once you finish reading your Encounter, you'll be as ready to participate in our College's upcoming Centennial festivities as I am, as we set out to celebrate our past, our present, and our future.
