Letter from Dr. Richard Behr, Department Head
Dear Alumni and Friends, We have been focused lately on building some initial momentum for a Practitioner Instructor (PI) Program endowment for the AE Department. As detailed on Page 8, our easy to remember goal is to raise ("PI") = 3.14 million dollars in 3.14 years to establish an endowment to support the appointment of experienced practitioner instructors each year (in perpetuity) to teach a suite of specialized courses in the AE curriculum. Having the AE PI Program in place would enhance significantly our already strong AE academic program, and would promote even more effective interactions between industry and academia.
Initially, we have concentrated on asking AE Career Fair companies to consider making substantial PI Program investments. This is logical, as these companies hire our graduates, and having a permanent PI Program in place would almost certainly produce an even stronger AE graduate. To date, we have received $510K in pledges for the AE PI Program, as highlighted on Page 9. These "quiet phase" pledges to the PI Program are encouraging, as we now prepare for the formal kickoff of the AE PI Program campaign at this year's AE Career Fair on November 14, 2006. Ultimately, we will likely need support from companies, individuals, groups of companies, groups of individuals, etc. to reach our $3.14 Million goal. This will not be easy, but it can be done. And when we are done, the result will be a permanently enhanced AE program at Penn State. A successful PI Program will undoubtedly receive national and international recognition, which will further enhance this department's already strong reputation. Please give some careful consideration as to how you and/or your company might support the AE PI Program campaign.
Fall 2006 represents the start of my tenth year as AE Department Head. I continue to derive much satisfaction in serving as head of this fine department. Thank you for your continued support. Yours truly,
Richard A. Behr, Ph.D., P.E.
Department Head