History
Purdue University created the School of Engineering Education (ENE), the world's first such academic unit, in 2004, incorporating First-Year Engineering and Multidisciplinary Engineering/Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies and, in 2005, launching a doctoral program. Below are the milestones in the life of the School of Engineering Education in the context of Purdue's longstanding advances in educational innovation.
Milestones
| 1953 | The Department of Freshman Engineering, the first program of its kind in the country, is established to prepare entering Purdue engineering students for their discipline of choice. |
| 1958 | The Department of Freshman Engineering creates Purdue's first honors program, for academically advanced engineering students. |
| 1969 | The nation's first Women in Engineering Program is founded in the Department of Freshman Engineering. |
| 1969 | The Interdisciplinary Engineering Program is created. |
| 1974 | The Minority Engineering Program is founded in the Department of Freshman Engineering. |
| 1975 | The National Society of Black Engineers is founded at Purdue. |
| 2004 | The School of Engineering Education is established, the first of its kind in the nation. The school brings together the First-Year Engineering Program (formerly the Department of Freshman Engineering), Multidisciplinary Engineering/Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies (formerly Interdisciplinary Engineering), and a new graduate program in engineering education. |
| 2006-2009 | ENE faculty leads in ASEE's Year of Dialogue (2006-07), in the 2006 National Engineering Education Research Colloquies, in the 2008 Research in Engineering Education Symposium, and in the 2009 NSF-sponsored symposium "Creating Engineering Education Opportunities: Why and How"?, making fundamental and comprehensive contributions ot the development of the national research agenda and its advancement. |
| 2006 | The first PhD is granted in the field of engineering education. |
| 2006 | INSPIRE (Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning) is founded in the School of Engineering Education. |
| 2008 | The Ideas to Innovation Learning Laboratory opens, engaging first-year students in the engineering design process. |
| 2009 | The Kamyar Haghighi Headship of Engineering Education is endowed. |
| 2010 | The Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professorship in Engineering Education is endowed. |
| 2012 | The Crowley Family Professorship in Engineering Education is endowed. |
Heads of the Former Department of Freshman Engineering
| Albert Spalding (Founding Head) |
1953-1967 |
| Clifford Gerde |
1967-1973 |
| Harold Amrine |
1973-1981 |
| Richard Grace |
1981-1987 |
| Phillip Wankat |
1987-1995 |
| Victor Goldschmidt |
1996-2000 |
| Jennifer Sinclair Curtis |
2000-2003 |
| Kamyar Haghighi |
2003-2004 |
Heads of Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Engineering
| Richard Grace (Founding Head) |
1969-1982 |
| David Kessler |
1982-2000 |
| Phillip Wankat* |
2000-2014 |
| Mary Pilotte |
2014-2023 |
| Robin Adams |
2023- |
Heads of the School of Engineering Education
| Kamyar Haghighi (Founding Head) |
2004-2009 |
| David Radcliffe (Interim Head) |
2009-2010 |
| David Radcliffe (Kamyar Haghighi Head) |
2010-2016 |
| Audeen Fentiman (Interim Head) |
2016-2017 |
| Donna Riley (Kamyar Haghighi Head) |
2017-2023 |
| Edward Berger (Interim Head) |
2023- |
*The Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering joined the School of Engineering Education in 2004, at which time Dr. Wankat's title changed from Head to Director of the program.
