11/2/2016

Parents,

It’s hard to believe that this week marks the end of 4/5ths of the semester. By now, grades are fairly well set. In most classes, there will be one more test and a final. In English class, students need to be polishing up their essays. You can really help in this by reviewing what they have written. In my class, students need to have completed all of their homework. Most of them are doing this.

Most of our freshmen will register next Monday (11/14). Registration officially begins at 8 AM, but students need to be on-line by 7:45 AM. It would really help if you could call them at 7 AM to be sure they are up and ready to go.

I want to give you a sense of how students are feeling at this time. They are really worn down. They may be discouraged with some of their grades. They may even be doubting their choice of a major.

All of this is natural. Every engineer has gone through this. I think the most critical thing that students will learn this semester is how to face a challenge. Some will run away from the challenge and live a life of regret of what might have been. Others will face up to the challenge, make adjustments, accept the results of how things turn out, and have the resolve to do better next semester. And for a few, this semester has presented few challenges, so their testing is still in the future.

I have worked with a number of students who didn’t have the grades they wanted in the first semester but were able to turn it around in the second semester. I’ll talk more about this in a future email, but I hope you will help your student realize that confronting their challenges is one of life’s most important lessons.

This week in class, we will be discussing engineering ethics. Engineering, like other professions, has a Code of Ethics which guides our behavior. Since so much of what we do affects public safety, it’s really important that our students understand the ethical behavior expected of them.

I approach ethics education by translating the Engineering Code of Ethics into a code of principles with the same concepts but put into language and context that is especially relevant to students.

The particular ethics issues that especially concern me are

■Our students’ willingness to step up and stop an unsafe situation from continuing.

■Our students’ ability to resist the temptation to take short cuts on assignments.

■Our students’ ability to recognize when something is not what it should be.

Over my years of teaching, I have sat through many faculty discussions about student behavior. I am astonished by what my faculty colleagues are reporting. I see none of these issues in my classes. I have come to believe that student behavior in class is a reflection of student and faculty respect for each other. This generation of students has a strong moral compass that you as parents have shaped. When they come to college, they face moments of truth that will test their values, but they will do fine.

Let me share with you the story of Cindy. After her first day at her internship, she discovered that she had a rash over her arms and face. She came to me very concerned. We discussed what she needed to do.

Cindy did an investigation of the chemicals used in the process. She discovered one chemical was cancer causing and that it was used in the area where Cindy was working.

Cindy put together her investigation into the chemical and the worker exposure. She put this in a report and asked to meet with the plant manager. She was well aware that this could lead to the termination of her internship.

The plant manager was angry. Cindy had gone beyond what she was asked to do. But the plant manager also realized that he needed to do something. Cindy helped find a solution. As it turned out, the process improvements were a substantial savings to the company. And Cindy had the satisfaction that she had done the right thing.

Years later, there was a news story about the community where the plant was located. The focus of the story was about an abnormally high level of cancer deaths. Unfortunately Cindy’s efforts couldn’t reverse the long years of exposure to the Chemical.

I use this case study in class and ask students if they would have been willing to speak up as Cindy did. I hope that they will