ENE's Oakes appointed associate dean for undergraduate education
When William (Bill) Oakes took a job focused on teaching and student engagement in Freshman Engineering at Purdue University in 1997, he was excited to impact thousands of students.
He also thought it was a dead-end position limited to teaching in the department.
He was wrong.
In his first semester in West Lafayette, Oakes was assigned to Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), a community-engaged design program started at Purdue that partners teams of students with local and global community organizations to address human, community and environmental needs. In 1999, he became co-director. By 2007, he was director.
In the early 2000s, discussions started about creating a School of Engineering Education, which would be the first such school in the country. It became official in 2004.
More than 20 years later, Oakes is assistant dean for experiential learning who has been key in launching educational programs at Purdue University in Indianapolis, including EPICS and the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program, and a 150th Anniversary Professor of Engineering Education who has held courtesy appointments in mechanical engineering, environmental and ecological engineering and curriculum and instruction.
Throughout his Purdue tenure, Oakes has taken on increased responsibilities for undergraduate education.
He took another this week.
Oakes was appointed the new associate dean for undergraduate education for the College of Engineering, effective July 16, 2024, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering Arvind Raman announced.
“I’m excited about the chance to have an impact across the college working with the incredibly talented teams in the engineering schools and programs,” Oakes said. “I’m looking forward to building on our high-quality programs to continue to enhance the experiences for our incredible students.”
Oakes replaces Alina Alexeenko, who had been in the role since 2019 and will transition to focus primarily on pharmaceutical manufacturing-connected initiatives.
This fall, Oakes will be teaching ENG 13300, a required introductory engineering course, in Indianapolis. He wanted to be on the ground there to help build relationships with faculty, staff and students and to gain familiarity with the location, all experience he thinks will be “extremely valuable” in his new role as associate dean.
He’ll also turn the reins over in EPICS soon, as a search for a new director will begin. Oakes is confident the program will continue to grow and resonate with faculty, students, staff and community. He also hopes to continue to work with universities around the world, as well as middle schools and high schools without the U.S.
“I had to write some material for an award recently that included summarizing our impact in EPICS and it was so rewarding to take a step back and look at the impact we have had, on students and the community. I feel like I have had the best job in the world being able to explore how we make the world a little better each day in a tangible way,” Oakes said.
Oakes is a fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and a member of the ASEE Hall of Fame. He began a three-year term on the Engineering Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) Executive Committee as president-elect on Jan. 1, 2024.
A Purdue alumnus, Oakes completed his PhD in mechanical engineering after receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University.
“My career has taken me to places I never dreamed of and Purdue has given me a great deal,” Oakes said. “This new position lets me give back a small portion of what I have gotten. We have amazing students who are doing incredible things, while they are students and more after they graduated. I’m excited to play a small part in enhancing those experiences so they can have even more impact in their careers.”
“When Arvind asked me to take this job, he spoke about the obligation to serve, and that is how I see this position. It is my turn to serve and my honor to serve in a position that can have such a broad impact.”