Contact: Phil Hearn
Kirk Schulz, director of Mississippi State's Swalm School of Chemical Engineering
The director of Mississippi State's Swalm School of Chemical Engineering is a new appointee to a prestigious commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Kirk H. Schulz, who also holds the Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. Chair (endowed professorship) in the university's Bagley College of Engineering, has been named to ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC).
The EAC is tasked with providing leaders in the engineering profession to lead accreditation teams on visits to universities in the United States. The 54-member group represents 23 different engineering professional societies.
Schulz is one of only four members representing the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
"Dr. Schulz's appointment to the EAC is not only a great individual honor for Kirk, but also is a great honor for Mississippi State and the Bagley College of Engineering," said interim engineering dean Robert P. Taylor.
"Having faculty serve in this capacity is beneficial because it increases national awareness of the college, while providing a service to the engineering profession," he added. "To have a faculty member who is closely associated with the commission and knowledgeable of the ABET process is an invaluable asset to our college and university."
ABET is the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology; and is a federation of 31 professional and technical societies representing these fields. The EAC oversees the implementation and continuous improvement process for accreditation of engineering programs.
Preparations already are under way at the MSU engineering college for the fall 2005 accreditation visit of ABET, which certifies some 2,500 programs at more than 550 colleges and universities nationwide. The board has served higher education for more than 70 years.
A member of the MSU faculty since 2001, Schulz's research interests focus in the general area of surface science and catalysis. He received a bachelor's degree in 1986 and a doctorate in 1991, both in chemical engineering and both from Virginia Tech University.