The Wayne State University College of Engineering is responsible for all engineering-related programs at Wayne State University. With alumni of the college totaling over 29,000, it is one of the premier engineering colleges in Michigan. Founded in 1933, the College of Engineering has grown to include a variety of programs ranging from civil engineering, biomedical engineering and many others. It is located on Wayne State's main campus in Detroit, in a building shared with the Danto Engineering Development Center. The current Dean of Engineering is Dr. Farshad Fotouhi.
History
The Wayne State University College of Engineering had its unofficial beginning in 1920, when co-founder Ernest Drake began teaching the first engineering courses that were a part of the university's chemistry program. Professors Arthur R. Carr and Drake officially founded the college in 1933 and began with only four disciplines: chemical, electrical, mechanical and civil engineering. The classes and the offices were in the Old Main building and several old houses within the neighborhood. By 1937, the college grew to 632 full-time students, with 24 faculty members. To date the College of Engineering has expanded to comprise 135 full-time faculty and 3,493 undergraduate and graduate students. To keep pace with advances in the areas of science, technology and communications, Wayne State University College of Engineering continued expanding and built a state-of-the-art building that could help position it as a leader in an emerging growth area. In 2009, WSU opened the $3 million Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center. The college's research, academic curriculum, and use of historical and modern facilities has allowed it to become a key player in Michigan's transition from a manufacturing economy to a strong, effective, and diversified high-tech global marketplace.
Academics
The College of Engineering has many accredited bachelor and graduate programs spanning an array of engineering fields. Wayne State's engineering department also has many research and grant funded projects where staff and students work side by side. The college offers the Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctorate of Philosophy in many engineering disciplines. It also offers graduate certificates and other non-degree programs.
In Fall 2019, the College of Engineering enrolled 3,493 students, including 2,371 full-time students and 1,122 part-time students. This comprised 2,498 undergraduate students and 955 graduate students. In 2018-19, the college awarded 913 degrees and certificates.
Dean
Dean Farshad Fotouhi is the 11th dean of the College of Engineering. He joined Wayne State University in 1988 as a faculty member in the computer science department. In 2004, he was appointed chair after serving as associate chair and, on Feb 15, 2011, he became the dean. Dean Fotouhi received a WSU College of Science Teaching Excellence Award in 1996. Before joining Wayne State University, he was a faculty member of the Michigan State UniversityLyman Briggs College. Dean Fotouhi's research interests include biomedical informatics, the semantic web and multimedia systems. He has published more than 180 papers in journals and conference proceedings. He holds a bachelor's in computer science from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in computer science from the College of Engineering at Michigan State University.
