ABET

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., announces that the admission of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) has been ratified by the ABET societies. INCOSE joins ABET as a Member Society, effective immediately. ABET Member Societies have responsibilities in accreditation of degree programs, participate in the ABET accreditation commissions, and have at least one voting member on the ABET Board of Directors. INCOSE will have responsibility as one of the Lead Societies for systems engineering programs, specifically those programs whose titles do not reference other program criteria.

The ABET Board of Directors approved the admission of INCOSE as a Member Society in November 2007, subject to ratification by two-thirds of ABET’s Member Societies. ABET is one of the largest federations of professional and technical societies in the United States. With the addition of INCOSE, those societies now total 29.

“ABET is extremely pleased with the ratification of INCOSE,” says ABET President Skip Fletcher. “It is important that ABET continues to involve the relevant professions in the accreditation process. It is our ability to do so that makes ABET a leader in the world’s educational community.”

The International Council on Systems Engineering was founded in 1990 to develop and disseminate the interdisciplinary principles and practices that enable the realization of successful systems. There are more than 6,000 members of INCOSE. More information about INCOSE and systems engineering is available at the organization’s website: www.incose.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 27, 2008

Baltimore, MD – Lance K. Hoboy, CAE, was recently added to the ABET staff as Comptroller. Hoboy comes to ABET with more than 30 years of experience in business development, finance, and strategic planning. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer at wireless communications provider Worldcell, Inc. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Finance and Strategic Planning for the Parenteral Drug Association. Hoboy has a BS in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Cornell University.

“Lance Hoboy is a great addition to our headquarters leadership team,” said ABET Executive Director George D. Peterson, Ph.D., PE. “He has a unique combination of training as an engineer and experience leading the finance and operations units of a variety successful for- and not-for-profit organizations. I am confident that he will help us improve our efficiency in many areas, from financial management to customer service and beyond.”

As Comptroller, Hoboy is responsible for the management and administration of ABET’s financial accounting, treasury, and budgeting activities. He will work closely with the ABET Treasurer and the Board Finance Committee in these areas. In addition, Hoboy oversees the Information Technology Department, as well as general office operations.

“I am thrilled,” said Hoboy, “to have the opportunity to serve a prestigious organization such as ABET, with its tradition of more than 75 years of dedication to the advancement of education in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.”

A complete listing of ABET headquarters staff can be found at www.abet.org/staff.shtml.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2007

Washington, D.C. – At their biennial meetings this week in Washington, D.C., signatories of the Sydney and Dublin Accords granted ABET, Inc., with provisional signatory status in both agreements. ABET applied for membership to the accords at the recommendation of its Technology Accreditation Commission earlier this year.

The Sydney and Dublin Accords, modeled on the Washington Accord for engineering, are mutual recognition agreements among accreditors of engineering technology programs. The agreements recognize the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by member signatories and recommends that the graduates of those accredited programs in any of the signatory jurisdictions be recognized by the other jurisdictions as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering technology at either the technologist (Sydney Accord) or technician (Dublin Accord) level. The Sydney Accord was signed in 2001; the Dublin Accord in 2002.

ABET is a founding member of the Washington Accord, which was established in 1989 and now has 12 full and four provisional signatories. Members of the Washington Accord also met this week in Washington, D.C., as part of the 2007 International Engineering Meetings. ABET was the host of these meetings.

“ABET’s new status as a member of the Sydney and Dublin Accords is not only a significant achievement for the organization but an important advantage for the technologists and technicians graduating from ABET-accredited programs,” said Dr. David E. Hornbeck, ABET’s Adjunct Accreditation Director for Technology and Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering Technology at Southern Polytechnic State University. “These agreements should allow ABET graduates to participate more easily in the global economy, which is becoming increasingly necessary in our professions.”

The current members of the Sydney Accord are as follows:

The current members of the Dublin Accord are as follows:

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for 75 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through workshops, consultancies, memoranda of understanding, and mutual recognition agreements, such as the Washington Accord. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2007

ABET Executive Director George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., will participate in U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings' summit in Washington, D.C., this week. The much anticipated summit, titled "A Test of Leadership: Committing to Advance Post-Secondary Education for all Americans," is billed by the Department of Education as a "key component" of Spellings' plan for revamping the U.S. higher education system.

Peterson is among 300 attendees said to be "key players" in the higher education community. The complete attendee list, as well as more information on the agenda and goals of the summit, was reported today by Inside Higher Ed: http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/03/20/summit.

ABET withdrew its recognition from the U.S. Department of Education in 2001. The organization, however, continues to be engaged by the Department because of its distinguished leadership in technical education and outcomes-based accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2006

ABET is watching and listening closely to the discussions following the release of the National Academy of Engineering Engineer of 2020 reports, particularly those regarding accreditation at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels. This practice is currently prohibited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

Specifically, the reports recommend that the bachelor’s degree “be considered as a pre-engineering or ‘engineer in training’ degree,” rather than the first professional degree, as the bachelor’s is widely considered now.

Many in the engineering community favor the master’s degree as the first professional degree, citing the need to both enhance the status of the engineering profession and to enable new engineers to enter the profession with the breadth and depth of knowledge many feel is required in today’s increasingly global economy.

Others argue for the bachelor’s to remain as the first professional degree out of concern for creating yet another roadblock in the U.S. engineering pipeline.

Ultimately, ABET must respond to its core constituencies — the 28 professional societies that comprise it and the academic institutions that invite it to assess their programs. ABET will not be a “driver” in this regard, but it must be responsive to the needs of its constituents. That may mean being a facilitator for those programs who seek to change and for the profession as a whole, should it decide to move in the direction of the 2020 recommendations.

ABET needs to hear from you on this issue. Should the EAC prohibition on dual-level accreditation be removed? Please send your comments to ABET President Richard Seagrave, Ph.D., via the Contact Us feature of this website. Comments would be appreciated in time for the EAC’s Executive Committee meeting in January 2007.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2006

Baltimore, MD – On June 17 and 18, program evaluator candidates from ASCE, ASEE, ASME, and IEEE participated in a training beta test. The beta was designed as a “dress rehearsal” for ABET's new program evaluator training process, which will be piloted in July. Prototype Training Team members Daina Breidis, AICHE; Jim O’Brien, ASCE; John Orr, IEEE; Mike Robinson, ANS; Susan Schall, IIE; and Joe Turner, CSAB; have been working with ABET to develop the training since mid-January.

Improving program evaluator training is part of the process improvements generated by the Participation Project (along with recommendations for recruitment, selection, and evaluation of program evaluators).

One participant commented that the beta training was “excellent participation and covered a lot of ground.” Another participant said the training was “very well done, one of the best trainings I have attended.” Overall, the six participants gave the training high marks.

“While we are making some changes based on the feedback from the participants, we are encouraged by how well it went,” said Susan Schall, who served as the beta's Core Facilitator. “The training is definitely new and improved,“ she added.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2006

Baltimore, MD – In its May issue, PE: The Magazine for Professional Engineers, a publication of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), reports on ABET's plans for international accreditation. "ABET Accreditation Plans Go Global," which appears in the magazine's "Communities" section, features a brief look at the catalysts for this initiative and notes some of the principles the organization will be adhering to as it moves forward. Visit www.nspe.org for PE subscription information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2006

Baltimore, MD – The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), a peer review board that certifies practitioners in the safety profession, approved a measure that grants the designation of Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) to all students who complete bachelor’s and master’s degree programs holding accreditation from the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) of ABET. Achieving the GSP designation is considered the first step towards Certified Safety Professional (CSP) certification, the equivalent of licensure for safety professionals.

BCSP grants students qualifying for the GSP designation a waiver from the Safety Fundamentals examination, one of the qualifications to receive CSP certification. This status will not exempt safety graduates from the academic and experience requirements or from the Comprehensive Practice examination necessary to achieve certification, but the GSP designation recognizes that these students have met the highest level of academic preparation for the safety profession through coursework, capstone projects, and the practical experience that internships grant during their studies. According to the December 2005 BCSP Newsletter, most of the Board’s directors felt that students who have completed the rigorousness of ABET-accredited safety programs, which are evaluated by volunteers from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), consequentially will have the foundation knowledge required for entry into and success within the profession that the Safety Fundamentals examination aims to assess.

Traditionally, students from ABET-accredited safety programs have been allowed to sit for the Safety Fundamentals examination prior to their graduations, and the BCSP’s current policy that waives the application fees of those who take the exam will remain in effect. However, the designation of these students as Graduate Safety Practitioners will encourage recent graduates to achieve the CSP early in their careers and will afford them with the advantages that CSP certification grants sooner than the average safety professional would receive them. Designation of graduates from ABET-accredited programs as Graduate Safety Practitioners may also encourage non-accredited safety degree programs to pursue ABET accreditation and achieve the prestige and quality assurance benefits that this recognition provides.

The BCSP hopes to launch the Graduate Safety Practitioner program in time for May 2006 graduations. More information about the GSP program is available on the BCSP website at www.bcsp.org/gsp.

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through agreements such as the Washington Accord, and offers educational credentials evaluation services through ECEI to those educated abroad. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

"Competency Model" for Program Evaluators Approved by ABET Board of Directors

Click here to download the model. (pdf)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2005

Baltimore, MD – At its October 29 meeting, the Board of Directors of ABET, Inc., the recognized accrediting body for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, unanimously approved a “competency model” that embodies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes exhibited by an effective program evaluator. The competency model will serve as the minimum criteria in recruiting and selecting potential program evaluators and as a tool against which each program evaluator’s performance will be assessed following the campus evaluation visit. With the Board’s approval, the competency model will now become part of ABET’s Rules of Procedure.

The competency model is one of the results of ABET’s Participation Project, a human resource initiative that aims to optimize the expertise and experience of the volunteers who participate in ABET’s outcomes-based accreditation process. Consultants from Cardea Communications (www.cardeacom.net), who are assisting ABET with this endeavor, conducted a survey to ascertain which traits ABET team chairs feel are necessary to assume effectively the role of program evaluator. Between 96 and 98 percent of the respondents gave an “important” or “very important” rating to each of the following characteristics: technically current, effective at communicating, interpersonally skilled, team-oriented, professional, and organized. These qualities became the basis for the competency model. Further, the model specifies the desired proficiency for each quality and explains how those proficiencies would be demonstrated on an actual campus visit. The complete model can be found on the next page.

The approval of this competency model is only the first of many improvements ABET hopes will result from the Participation Project. Processes used to recruit, select, train, and evaluate ABET volunteers have been examined in depth, and recommendations for their improvement will be piloted throughout 2006. These changes are expected to enhance the quality and consistency of the ABET accreditation process to the benefit of both accredited programs and all of the many volunteers and society staff members who carry out this process. The Participation Project focuses on the value-added for all involved.

ABET Executive Director George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., said, “The results of this project could very well be the most significant contributions to the accreditation process since the adoption of outcomes-based criteria.”

ABET Executive Director Recognized Among Technology's Most Important Blacks for Second Straight Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2005

Baltimore, MD – For the second year in a row, George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., Executive Director of ABET, Inc., has been named one of the year’s “Most Important Blacks in Technology” by the editors of US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine.

US Black Engineer & Information Technology chose Peterson as one of the distinguished professionals who comprises its prestigious “100 Most Important Blacks in Technology” list for 2006. This year’s list will be published in the November/December 2005 issue of the magazine, which is distributed nationwide to engineering colleges, engineering and information technology professionals, and top corporate and government decision-makers. As a recipient of this honor, Peterson will be presented to the nation’s young people as a role model, his accomplishments highlighted as examples of the contributions that the millions of Black men and women working in the technology and business world make daily. Previously, Peterson was selected as one of the magazine’s “50 Most Important Blacks in Technology” for 2005.

Peterson and this year’s other honorees will be recognized during a black-tie awards ceremony at the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Friday, February 17, 2006. This event will serve as the high point of the three-day 20^th Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference, a premiere career development and employee recognition event for African Americans in engineering, science, and technology.

A former electrical engineering program evaluator and Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) Chair, Peterson has served as ABET’s Executive Director for more than a decade. His previous positions include Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Morgan State University. In addition to leading ABET, Peterson is currently Chair of the Specialized and Professional Advisory Panel and member of the Committee on Recognition of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; Vice-Chair of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies; and a former member of the Executive Council of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. Peterson also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Institute College of Art.

In 1972, while serving with the U.S. Air Force in Southeast Asia, Peterson was decorated with the Bronze Star. His other awards include the Black Engineer of the Year Award for the Promotion of Higher Education, the IEEE Meritorious Achievement Award in accreditation activities, the University of Illinois Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award, and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Peterson is a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of ABET, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, and he was recently selected as a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers of Great Britain. Peterson earned his BS degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, his MS in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. In 1988, he retired a Lieutenant Colonel following more than 20 years of armed service in the U.S. Air Force.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., the recognized accrediting body for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, installed its new slate of officers on October 29, 2005, at the biannual meeting of its Board of Directors, held in San Diego, California. The following individuals will serve as the officers of the ABET Board of Directors for the 2005-2006 term:

Richard C. Seagrave, Ph.D. is the 2005-2006 ABET President. Previously, Seagrave served two terms as ABET Secretary, dually representing ABET and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). During his five years on the ABET Board of Directors, he served on the International Activities Committee of ABET and as Board Liaison to the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC). Seagrave was a member of the EAC from 1992 to 1999 and served as its Chair in 1996-97. In 1999, he was named an ABET Fellow. Seagrave is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

William S. Clark, P.E., is the 2005-2006 President-Elect. On October 29, he concluded a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee. Clark joined the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers representative in 1987 and was TAC’s Chair in 1994-95. He subsequently led the criteria committee that wrote the initial version of the outcomes-based evaluation criteria, now referred to as TC2K. A Fellow of ABET, Clark was selected as one of IEEE’s three Representative Directors to the ABET Board of Directors in 2001. Clark is currently a Director of Finance at BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia.

James H. Dooley, Ph.D., P.E., begins the second year of a two-year term as ABET Secretary for 2005-2006. Dooley holds engineering degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; University of California at Davis; and the University of Washington. He is a licensed professional engineer in two states and holds six U.S. patents. Dooley is currently the President and CEO of Silverbrook Limited and is Executive Manager of Forest Concepts in Federal Way, Washington.

Allen I. Ormsbee, Ph.D., begins the second year of his third two-year term as ABET Treasurer in 2005-2006. Formerly Chair of the ABET Finance Committee, Ormsbee is Professor Emeritus of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1999, he retired as Professor and Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Roger M. Zimmerman, Ph.D., P.E., will serve the second year of a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee in 2005-2006. Zimmerman has represented the National Society of Professional Engineers on the ABET Board of Directors since 2001 and on the EAC from 1996-2001. His professional career spans several positions at New Mexico State University, including Associate Dean of Engineering, and Sandia National Laboratories, including as a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff and Project Manager. Currently, Zimmerman is the owner of Engineering Analyses, LLC, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned his Ph.D. in structural mechanics from the University of Colorado.

James R. Plasker, P.E., will serve the first year of a two-year term as Board Representative to ABET’s Executive Committee, beginning in 2005-2006. Plasker represents the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) on the ABET Board of Directors. He has served as an ABET program evaluator for ACSM since 1990 and as the Chair of the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) for 2002-2003. Plasker is the Executive Director of ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in engineering surveys from Oregon State University.

Richard O. Anderson, P.E., will be Past President in 2005-2006. Anderson is a Principal Engineer with Somat Engineering, Inc., Detroit, Michigan, and a licensed professional engineer in eight states.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2005

Baltimore, MD – In an unprecedented collaborative effort, ABET’s member societies are joining forces to strengthen the outcomes-based accreditation process by creating a dynamic system of volunteer recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation. Dozens of societies are now directly involved in the Participation Project, which just launched Phase II of its five-phased plan. The Participation Project, begun in 2004, is aimed at optimizing the experience and expertise of the many hundreds of volunteers who carry out the accreditation process.

During Phase II, three teams of representatives from the ABET societies, including both staff and volunteers, are working to develop systematic processes for volunteer recruitment, selection, training, evaluation, and continuous improvement. The teams are collecting input from the societies on best practices, suggesting new strategies and processes, and identifying opportunities to enhance the methods currently used in recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation. By the end of Phase II, each of the three teams will have developed new methods and made recommendations for improvement to existing processes. During Phase III of the project, these methods and recommendations will be pilot-tested by societies that volunteer to participate in the pilot phase.

“Society engagement in this project is critical to its success,” says ABET’s Executive Director, George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E. “The great potential for outcomes-based accreditation can only be realized if all of ABET’s stakeholders work together. It’s exciting to see how much we’re learning from one another and how much this collaboration will benefit us all in the near future.”

Jim O'Brien, Director of Educational Activities at the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the training-focused design team, remarks, “I'm excited about my involvement with other society members on the Training Team, because we are working together to design a training model that will result in fair and consistent program evaluations.”

“Program evaluators and visit team chairs are the public face of ABET,” explains Patricia Daniels, Ph.D., Past Chair of the Engineering Accreditation Commission, Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Seattle University, and member of one of the Phase II design teams. “We need to make sure they have all the resources they need to do the best job they can do. And because evaluators and team chairs come from the various ABET societies, societies care about this too.”

According to Neal Coulter, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction at the University of North Florida, "The heart of ABET is its volunteers.” An ABET society liaison for CSAB, Inc.,
and a member of the Phase II design team focused on recruiting and selecting evaluators, Coulter continues, “The Participation Project gives ABET a chance to identify the best possible volunteers and to ensure they are prepared to serve the science, engineering, and technology professions. As a long-time volunteer myself, I hope my experiences and perspectives help to improve procedures.” Coulter says he is “especially concerned with identifying a diverse group of program evaluators for accreditation visits, so ABET serves it many constituents.”

“I am pleased to be working on this project to help ensure consistency in recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation of program evaluators across the disciplines to help accreditation, and thus engineering licensure, adapt and grow with the engineering profession,” says consulting engineer Jill Tietjen, P.E., also a member of the Recruitment and Selection Team, and a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission. Tietjen explains, “Accreditation of engineering programs assures the integrity of the engineering education that students receive. Engineering education is one of the three components of the engineering licensure process. Thus, accreditation is critical in ensuring the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public through engineering licensure.”

Phase II of the Participation Project is set for completion at the end of August. Subsequent phases will include testing, revising, and implementing the solutions developed by the design teams and formalizing a continuous improvement plan. The entire project is expected to be complete by early 2007.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2005

Baltimore, MD – Representatives of several ABET member societies gathered at the organization’s headquarters today to help kick off the Participation Project, ABET’s human resources management initiative. Some societies participated via web conference. Represented were the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE); the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE); the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS); the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE); the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE); the American Nuclear Society (ANS); and ISA-The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society. This meeting was particularly meaningful, given the ABET member societies’ pivotal role in providing ABET with the volunteers who carry out the accreditation process. The purpose of the Participation Project is to develop a formalized method to recruit, select, train, and assess those volunteers. In order to be successful, the project must intimately involve the ABET societies.

During the four-hour meeting, society representatives were presented with status information on the Participation Project, which is currently in the first of five phases, and had a chance to meet the consulting group leading the project, Cardea Communications. Participants also contributed to the project by sharing their best practices and outlining their challenges. Cardea Communications will use this information throughout their work on the project.

Phase I, the current phase of the Participation Project, is nearly complete. Focusing on needs assessment and gap analysis, phase I has included almost 40 one-on-one interviews and more than 1,400 web-based surveys. Cardea has also observed program evaluator training and is benchmarking human resources management within other volunteer agencies. Phase II and III of the project will involve designing and testing the formalized ABET participation program, which will include the four major areas of volunteer recruitment, selection, training, and assessment. Phase IV will involve revising the participation program based on successes and shortcomings and implementing the final product throughout the organization. Phase V will build into the program continuous evaluation, assessment, and improvement processes. The entire project is expected to be complete by the end of 2006.

The deliverables of the completed project include the following:

“We have more than 1,500 volunteers—experts—carrying out ABET’s accreditation processes. We need to engage them, motivate them,” says George Peterson, ABET Executive Director. “We have reformed our accreditation criteria and are continually improving our accreditation processes. It is now time to pay close attention to our precious human resources, to make sure we are consistently giving them what they need to be the best. ABET is its volunteers. That is the heart of the Participation Project.”

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 30 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,600 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through agreements such as the Washington Accord, and offers educational credentials evaluation services through ECEI to those educated abroad. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

ABET Executive Director Named One of Technology’s ’50 Most Important Blacks’ for 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2004

Baltimore, MD – George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., Executive Director of ABET, Inc., has been selected by the editors of US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine for the prestigious “50 Most Important Blacks in Technology” list for 2005. The list will be published in the January/February 2005 issue of the magazine, which is distributed nationwide to engineering colleges and information technology professionals.

Honorees are chosen for this annual list based on their work in making technology part of global society. As a member of the 2005 list, Peterson will be presented to the nation’s young people as a role model, his accomplishments highlighted as examples of the important contributions made daily by the millions of Black men and women working in technology around the world.

Peterson and the list’s other honorees will gather for a colloquium and awards dinner on February 18 in Baltimore, an event to be held in conjunction with the 19th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards. The colloquium will focus on increasing Black entrepreneurship, executive development, and educational readiness for the digital economy.

A former electrical engineering program evaluator and Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) Chair, Peterson has served as ABET’s Executive Director for more than a decade. His previous positions include Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Morgan State University. In addition to leading ABET, Peterson is currently Chair of the Specialized and Professional Advisory Panel and member of the Committee on Recognition of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; Vice-Chair of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies; and a former member of the Executive Council of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. Peterson also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Institute College of Art.

In 1972, while serving with the U.S. Air Force in Southeast Asia, Peterson was decorated with the Bronze Star. His other awards include the Black Engineer of the Year Award for the Promotion of Higher Education, the IEEE Meritorious Achievement Award in accreditation activities, the University of Illinois Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award, and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Peterson is a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of ABET, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, and was recently selected as a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers of Great Britain.

Peterson earned his BS degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, his MS in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. In 1988, he retired a Lieutenant Colonel following more than 20 years of armed service in the U.S. Air Force.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 1, 2005

Baltimore, MD – ABET, Inc., is pleased to announce that assessment expert Gloria M. Rogers, Ph.D., will be joining the ABET staff in mid-2005. Among her responsibilities will be the establishment of various assessment resources for ABET-accredited programs and the implementation of assessment workshops, seminars, and symposia for program faculty. Rogers will also play a key role in ABET’s own continuous process improvement efforts.

Rogers has had a close relationship with ABET since the mid-1990s, when the organization first developed its outcomes-based accreditation criteria. Rogers has played a major role in helping to implement the new criteria by assisting college programs in developing and practicing effective self-assessment. As a speaker and facilitator at most of ABET’s assessment workshops held over the last 10 years, Rogers has impacted the assessment practices of hundreds of ABET-accredited programs across the country.

Currently Vice President of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Rogers is responsible for strategic planning, support for faculty and institutional assessment of student learning, and institutional research. She coordinates the institutional accreditation process and assures compliance with educational regulatory agencies. She has organized seven national symposia at Rose-Hulman on “Best Assessment Processes” that have been attended by over 1,250 engineering educators from 375 institutions around the world.

Rogers has presented workshops and seminars on the development and implementation of outcomes assessment programs throughout the United States and twelve other countries. She serves as a review panel member for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and as a member of the Advisory Committee/Government Performance and Responsibility Act, which advises NSF on matters of compliance with Congressional mandates. Rogers is also a consultant-evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association and a facilitator and presenter for the American Association of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission regional institutional workshops, “Changing Institutional Priorities.” She is the co-author of Stepping Ahead: An Assessment Plan Development Guide, which has been distributed to more than 10,000 faculty members throughout the country, has been the guest editor of a special assessment edition of the International Journal of Engineering Education, and is a guest columnist in Communications Link, the ABET newsletter. Rogers recently authored a CD-ROM titled Assessment Planning Flow Chart.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2005

The deliverables of the completed project include the following:

Policy Statements on Diversity Approved, Endorsed by ABET Board of Directors