CEE Bids Farewell to Class of 2009

Harry W Shenton III

At the University of Delaware’s graduation and convocation ceremonies on May 31st, 79 students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering received bachelor’s degrees. The CEE class of 2009 included 71 graduates of the civil engineering program and eight in the environmental engineering program.

Of this group, 25 call Delaware home, and more than 50 percent hail from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York. Four graduated from UD’s Honor’s Program, and 19 completed minors. In addition to the bachelor’s degree recipients, 14 students completed master’s degrees, and three earned doctoral degrees.

Although we’re in difficult economic times, almost half of our graduates have received offers of full-time employment, and 35 percent have decided to attend graduate school, either full or part time. Delaware’s newest Senator, Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), who is an engineer by training himself, has become a strong spokesperson for engineering careers. In a recent column for Today’s Engineer, he wrote, “The financial crisis might prove to be an opportunity for America — if we respond by taking steps to once again lead the world by creating new, innovative industries, businesses, and products. To do that, we must put science, engineering, and innovation back in their rightful place in our economy.”

I think he’s right. Although many of America’s most-talented young people chose careers in the financial sector during the past decade, engineering remains a solid career choice.

Civil and environmental engineers are making valuable contributions to the solution of critical problems in the 21st century and meeting the needs for sustainable buildings, safe bridges, environmentally friendly treatment facilities, and “smart” construction technologies, to mention just a few.

I think the UD CEE class of 2009 is well-poised to play a role in the “renewed dedication to leadership in engineering” that Kaufman calls for in his column.

We’ve tried to do our part by providing them not only with a solid technical education in engineering but also with solid communications skills, teamwork experience, and enrichment opportunities such as Study Abroad and Engineers Without Borders.

The rest is up to them, and we wish them all the best as they make the transition to graduate school and the workplace.