Dean's Welcome

Welcome to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Premier Professional School at the University of the District of Columbia . UDC is located on Connecticut Avenue in the Forest Hills District in N.W. Washington, D.C., the Nations Capital. The University enjoys the ambiance of a residential area with the convenience of a business district served by the Metro. The campus is surrounded by Embassies and Foreign Missions and is only a metro stop from the world famous Washington National Zoo. The University's 5300 strong student body is diverse and international, much like Washington . In addition to serving the special needs of Washington D.C. residents, about 25% of our students are international students. This is an exceptional opportunity. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences welcomes you to join us in welcoming Dr. William Pollard, our new President and a new Administration as we usher in the Academic Year 2002-2003.

We also welcome five new members of the faculty and staff to the school. The School is a NASA Education Resource Center (ERC). The ERC is a collaborative effort with the Learning Resource Division and is physically housed on the second floor of the Main Library in Building 41. The ERC serves as a free resource center for area teachers, students, peer institutions, and the community on matters related to the NASA mission and space exploration. In addition, through the Office of the Dean, the school operates the Science and Engineering Center that provides year-round pre-college programs to District and Metro DC residents and encourages minority kids to pursue careers in the fields of engineering, science, and technology. The SEC programs serve at least 1200 kids annually at two sites in the District. In addition, the School entered into an Internship Agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, the first such Agreement with an HBCU that enables majors in engineering to gain internship employment opportunities in the FAA as Airway Facilities Student Interns. The program provides for non-competitive conversion into a permanent Airway Facilities position upon graduation and completion of the Internship program. The School continues to expand its international program at the Modern Academy in Maadi, in Cairo , Egypt . Currently, the joint program offered at MAM consists of programs in computer science and electrical engineering.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has an enrollment of approximately 1500 students served by 49 full-time faculty. SEAS offers 22 professional associate and baccalaureate degrees with the majority professionally accredited. A new masters degree program in computer science is slated to be offered starting fall 2003. The School is comprised of four departments.

The Department of Engineering and Aerospace Technology (EAST) offers traditional B.S. programs in Civil and Mechanical Engineering. These programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. A new B.S. in engineering program with emphasis on public works and infrastructure has been approved and implementation will start during this academic year. In addition, the department offers ABET accredited programs in Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Engineering Technology that emphasizes professional applications. The department also offers two Aerospace Technology programs tailored to meet the needs of the aviation and airline industry. These programs are based at Reagan Washington National Airport and are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Another special program provided by the department is the Fire Science program for D.C. Firemen. The department supports the Materials Testing and Research Center (MTRC) that provides excellent technical support for infrastructure development in the District. The MTRC performs materials testing for all public works in the District and enables students in the discipline gain practical experience on testing of materials from various construction sites.

The Department of Architecture, Graphic Communications and Design (AGCD), offers a two-year program in Architectural Engineering Technology that is accredited by ABET, and a 2+3 professional program in Architecture. In addition, the department offers a wide range of programs from the certificate to the baccalaureate degree in printing, graphic communications and design, and imaging and desktop publishing. These programs are designed to enable immediate entry into the workforce upon graduation. The department houses the Architectural Research Institute (ARI) that provides technical services for building renovation and development to government agencies in the District.

The Department of Nursing and Allied Health (NAH) offers degree programs in nursing, mortuary science, respiratory therapy, and radiography. The department benefited from a special Health Initiative appropriation of $1.5 million for FY 1999 that made it possible to procure modern instructional equipment for all the programs. All the programs in the health sciences are professionally accredited. The performance on Board exams in the Allied Health areas exceeds national norms and placement rates are almost 100%. The Mortuary Science program enjoys an international reputation and, with the laboratory refurbishment completed, is now poised for growth. The credit-hour requirements for all nursing and allied health programs have been reduced to national norms to enable students graduate from the associates and baccalaureate degree programs in two and four years respectively. In addition, the faculty incorporated software instruction and national board certification exam test modules to improve student performance in the respective disciplines as needed. In 2002, the University signed an agreement that enables graduates of Practical Nursing programs to matriculate into the RN program at the University and to serve as a model for LPN to RN articulation in the District. With this, the University's LPN program became a unit in the department although it continues to operated a as a fee-based non-credit program with a separate Director, staff, and faculty.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences maintains a LAN with nearly 450 Pentium PCs in support of instructional and administrative functions. The LAN supports at least 15 general-purpose computer laboratories in engineering, computer science, aerospace technology, and the health sciences. A new Compaq ProLiant ML330 Generation 2 Server will be installed as an application server in addition to three existing servers in the fall 2002 to enhance academic support in the School and conversion to the Windows 2000 OS Platform to all computer laboratories.

Welcome home!

Sincerely,

Dr. Ben O. Latigo
Dean