Around the Schools: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Cherry A. Murray, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, hosted her first “all-hands” community meeting on Oct. 16 to outline her ambitious 10-year plan for the School.

To move forward, Murray has created a steering committee and area task forces to assess and implement academic and administrative plans. Particular emphasis will be placed on hiring up to 50 new faculty to “fill out gaps” and to help SEAS “realize its full potential”; enhancing the curriculum through hands-on learning and new degree programs such as bioengineering; and most important, investing in community building

Murray is putting a personal stake in the latter — donating a significant honorarium to the School. “I have pledged a gift to SEAS to be used specifically for community building between areas and to advertise the strengths of SEAS within Harvard and beyond,” she said. SEAS staff, students, and faculty can all apply for the funding starting in late October. Murray also expects a new Dean’s Lectureship series, bringing prominent SEAS alumni to campus, to begin in the fall of 2010.

Slides and a video of Murray’s talk are available here.