Proposal
merges two engineering departments
By Karla Casillas
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
A proposal to merge the chemical engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering
department is designed to provide students a better service and to save money.
The main purpose of this merger is to give students a better service by providing
more courses. Larry Jang, professor and chairman of the chemical engineering
department, helped write the proposal and said it will benefit students the most
and save between $100,000 and $150,000 in the process.
The chemical, and mechanical and aerospace engineering departments have many
courses in common. Some of the courses do not differ much and are offered annually — not
every semester. Students then have to wait a year to enroll in a course if they
did not get into the course any given semester.
The proposal describes a consolidation of classes as a reason for the savings.
A consolidation of classes means courses will be available for students of both
departments. The courses can be offered every semester without the need for new
faculty.
Professors from both departments are qualified to teach both subject areas, according
to Jang.
“
It’s more flexible,” Jang said.
For example, both courses have a Thermodynamics I course. The courses can count
for both majors and can be offered every semester instead of once a year. Other
courses can be consolidated, like Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and elective
courses. Students would also have more options when making their schedules.
Another service, according to the proposal, is chemical engineering students
would be better “served all day after the merger.”
Mihir Das, a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor, said to his knowledge,
the chemical engineering department does not have a secretary or staff in its
office, except for maybe a student assistant. With the merger, one office would
be available for all students.
Despite the benefits proposed, Jang said he does not expect unanimous consent.
One concern is the chemical engineering department may lose visibility. People
may not recognize the existence of the degree program, because the name of the
department would be changed. The degree will still be offered, but it would be
listed under the new department, Jang said.
This is not really a problem if the program has a separate section within the
new department in the catalog of classes, Jang said. That will help it maintain
visibility.
“
[The proposal] is to make the college stronger. It doesn’t mean
we’re weak,” Jang said.
Chemical engineering has a high quality program and this will make it even better,
he said.
Cal State Long Beach is one of three California State Universities that has a
chemical engineering program. The other two are Cal Poly Pomona and San Jose
State. The merger, if approved, will create new areas of study and make it possible
to add more modern classes to the program, Jang said.
Das calls it a sound proposal that will benefit both departments. The main thing
is the students, because the proposal directly benefits the programs, he said.
Das thinks the mechanical and aerospace engineering department is the bigger
department and can absorb a small department. The mechanical and aerospace engineering
department had an annual average of 418 undergraduate majors in the 2004-05 academic
year. Chemical engineering had an average of 73.
The merger will not take anything away from the departments. Both departments
are accredited by ABET, the accreditor for college and university programs in
applied science, computing, engineering and technology, according to ABET’s
Web site.
Both have good labs and good names; money will be saved and students would benefit
from the changes, Das said.
Hamid Hafazi, chairman of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department,
does not have much to say about the proposal because he said it has not been
discussed or approved by the faculty, college or university.
Michael K. Mahoney, dean of the College of Engineering, is waiting to hear from
both departments before he forms any opinions.
“
It doesn’t mean [the merger] will happen,” Mahoney said. “It’s
just a proposal.”
Before the proposal can be approved, both departments need to vote on it. They
then recommend it to their college council.
The dean of the college, in this case, Mahoney, then considers the proposal.
The final step is the university
reviewing it.
Mahoney expects to hear an update within the next month.
|
