Meet The Dean

From Dean Sandra Woods

As the dean of the College of Engineering, I have the pleasure of working with an extraordinary group of faculty, staff and students to build academic and research programs that positively impact society, human health, and the environment. I also believe that our college's culture encourages and supports interdisciplinary collaborations that are necessary to solve fundamentally important and complex problems.

The College of Engineering is home to five academic departments, 101 faculty, about 300 staff, 1,972 undergraduate students and 628 graduate students. Our faculty, staff, and students also participate in multiple interdisciplinary programs such as the School of Biomedical Engineering, the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, or the Clean Energy SuperCluster. In fiscal year 2011, the College of Engineering expended $63,900,000 of external funds (most federal) to (1) address fundamentally important problems, (2) develop new technologies, (3) contribute to economic development within Colorado and the Nation, and (4) provide financial support for a large number of graduate and undergraduate students. This extraordinary environment allows the College to recruit the best and brightest faculty to develop and deliver the most up-to-date curricula and to teach and mentor our students.

College of Engineering Vision

The College of Engineering conducts work that is purposeful with regional, national and global impacts. Our most important responsibility is to provide an excellent education for our students, one that recognizes and embraces the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations to define and solve fundamentally important problems and to respond to national and international needs. We will have a positive impact on the world through excellence in education, research, engagement and economic development programs and by preparing students for leadership roles in a diverse and global society.

College of Engineering Mission

The College of Engineering’s mission is to do purposeful work that impacts our global society. This important work includes:

• Providing an excellent education for students,
• Generating new knowledge,
• Applying that knowledge to develop and implement solutions for global problems,
• Working with internal and external partners to conduct meaningful outreach, and
• Contributing to prosperity through local, regional and global economic development.

We believe that our work benefits from improving the diversity of our faculty, staff and students, thereby increasing the diversity of thought. It is this diversity that will allow us to develop the best solutions for complex problems.

It is my privilege to work with this extraordinary group of faculty, staff and students as we continue this important work.

Sandra Woods was appointed interim dean of the College of Engineering on July 1, 2005 and she was appointed dean on July 1, 2006. Prior to her appointment as dean, she served as head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU. She also served as CSU's interim vice provost for special projects and interim vice provost for faculty affairs. In those roles, she led CSU's Graduate School, Office of International Program, and Division of Continuing Education. She is an environmental engineer. She completed a B.S. in civil engineering from Michigan State University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Washington. Prior to joining CSU, she was on the faculty at Oregon State University and served as faculty associate to the provost and as interim dean of Distance and Continuing Education.