Congratulations to our School of Engineering and Technology's Class of 2021! We are proud of each and every one of you, and know you will go far in life!
Check back on Friday, May 14th on our social media channels for a virtual celebration with a message from Dean Russomanno and some of our 2021 graduates!
For a list of graduates and downloadable recognition booklet, click here.
Description of the video:
Hello, I am David Russomanno, dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. On behalf of our entire School, I extend a warm welcome to our graduates, as well as their family and friends.
This spring 2020 semester has been an unprecedented time given the COVID-19 pandemic. Our graduates’ persistence and dedication through it all has been truly remarkable.
Just as we are energized each fall by the return of students to campus, we are very proud and optimistic about the future as we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates this spring.
Shortly after I arrived on campus as dean about 10 years ago, I challenged our School’s faculty and staff using 3 themes:
Compete and succeed at the highest levels
Strive for excellence in our core mission of teaching, research, and service
Enhance our image and reputation
These 3 themes are highlighted throughout our School’s strategic plan. These 3 themes are also very relevant to the graduates we celebrate today.
Compete at the highest levels:
Competition, when applied and interpreted appropriately will bring out the best in all of us. I challenge each of our new graduates to strive to compete at the highest levels as your success is critical to improving our world.
Strive for excellence:
It is no secret that we have some of the most demanding degree programs of any School on any college campus. All of our graduates are highly commended for your persistence to achieve the milestone in your lives that we celebrate today.
However, you must not rest on your laurels. You have the foundation required for life-long learning in a rapidly changing, highly complex world. Apply and extend the knowledge you have acquired wisely as you strive for excellence.
As you receive your Purdue or Indiana University degree it signifies a credential and a life-long connection to our School here at IUPUI. Also, think of it as a dividend paying stock, which you can never sell, but you can benefit from its increasing dividends over a lifetime.
The School of Engineering and Technology’s strategic plan is designed to enhance our image and reputation. Our bottom line success means increasing the value of your degree. We are continuously striving to increase its dividend.
All of our new alumni share a responsibility for enhancing our School’s image and reputation. How can you help?
First, be successful in your chosen profession. Exceed the expectations of those around you.
Second, stay connected with our School. Initially this connection may be made by sending that email to your favorite professor about how you have applied some knowledge gained in a class, or speaking to a prospective student or parent about your experience at IUPUI.
Perhaps you will visit a class to provide input, or take on a leadership role within our School’s alumni association.
Later, but we hope sooner than later, find a way to give back in other ways too. And, once you get settled in your career, or sell some of those other stocks, think about your legacy and consider establishing a named scholarship to provide opportunities for future students.
Who knows, perhaps IUPUI will recognize the naming of our School of Engineering and Technology after one of our graduates we celebrate here today.
By giving back through your time, talent, and treasure, you will invest in your stock and increase its dividend, helping both yourself, as well as the others that will follow you.
The Purdue or IU degree that you have earned gives you a solid foundation upon which to truly make your mark. I challenge and encourage you to build on that foundation, to enhance your image and reputation. In short, continue to make us proud of you and your many accomplishments.
Compete at the highest levels … Strive for excellence … Enhance image and reputation
These themes exemplify the standard of excellence that will advance the engineering and technology programs at IUPUI to national and international prominence.
As I conclude, I hope that you—as a graduate—will use these themes to guide the future directions in your career.
Don’t worry: there won’t be a quiz after today’s celebration. However, you will continue to face some of life’s toughest tests as you have this spring through the pandemic—but I know your education has equipped you well for success as you face the challenges that lie ahead.
I’m confident that later in life, as you reflect back on your successful career, you will say that it all began in the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI.
I look forward to keeping in touch with each of you, and we hope that your involvement in our School will continue long after celebrations conclude.
Congratulations, again, to all class of 2020 graduates from the School of Engineering and Technology.
Congratulations on your upcoming graduation from the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. It is important to the school that our graduates are successful after graduation. We are interested to hear what you are currently doing. Have you secured a job? Been accepted to graduate school? This information helps us so we can better tell your success story and help new students as they prepare for their options after IUPUI. If you haven’t done so already please complete the IUPUI Next Step survey at http://go.iupui.edu/nextstep. This should only take about 5-10 minutes of your time. All information entered into the survey will be kept private and your information will only be shared as an aggregate.
Again, congratulations on your accomplishment!
