Arguments for Recruiting Engineering Faculty from Business and Industry

It is my contention that the idea of recruiting engineering faculty from business and industry needs to be seriously reexamined by our schools and colleges of engineering. Most engineering programs genuinely strive for excellence; however, they keep using the same old educational model on the assumption that it has worked in the past and will continue to work in the future. Inherent in this model is the apparent conviction that an excellent research institution will necessarily produce excellent engineering graduates. The corollary to that seems to be that an individual will not be a good teacher unless he or she is a good researcher. I firmly believe that there are a number of weaknesses in this archetype, and several of these are addressed in this paper. I also contend that faculty members recruited from business and industry will contribute significantly not only to the teaching mission of our engineering programs but to their research mission as well.