Message from the EAA President
Dear Alumni and Friends,
2011 has been a year of changes for the Engineering Alumni Association (EAA) and its members. We have a new Wayne State University president, Allan Gilmour; and a new College of Engineering dean, Farshad Fotouhi. We welcome both and look forward to continuing our support of the college and the university. Membership in the Engineering Alumni Association today totals more than 1,100 members.
Our initial fundraising effort for this academic year supported the Night of the Stars (NOS) event held October 2, 2010, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Robert Lee Byrum - a longtime member of the EAA board, the college's Hall of Fame, the Engineering Board of Visitors, and the Old Main Society, and recognized by the Anthony Wayne Society as a member at the 1868 level - was posthumously presented with the EAA Spirit of the Helios award. The award is made for exemplary support of the Engineering Alumni Association and its objectives. This is only the second time the award has been granted; the first was presented to the late Ralph Kummler, dean emeritus, at the 2009 NOS event. Complementing the dinner and awards was an outstanding silent auction. I believe all who attended the Night of the Stars enjoyed the evening.
Planning is currently under way for several EAA events, including a wine tasting in the spring and an early fall golf outing. More details will be available on the EAA website at www.eng.wayne.edu/alumni.
Regarding websites, Nathan Bennett, an EAA board member, created a WSU College of Engineering Group on LinkedIn. This group now has more than 600 members. LinkedIn is not only a popular networking tool for professionals, employers and search firms also use it to find qualified candidates for open positions.
Those seeking new career opportunities may wish to check out the Job Listings page on the Engineering Alumni Association website. This page contains an automated search of many job opportunity boards.
Through Engineering Alumni Grants for Education and Research (EAGER) the EAA is financially supporting Wayne State team entrants into the Formula SAE, Concrete Canoe, Intelligent Ground Vehicle, and Steel Bridge competitions, the latter being a new EAA sponsorship in 2011. In addition, EAGER funds are budgeted for student scholarship awards at the 2011 Honors Convocation. EAGER funds are obtained through contributions and EAA fundraising events such as the annual golf outing. An EAGER contribution form is enclosed in this Exemplar.
As EAA president I also serve on the Constituent Presidents Council (CPC). Collectively the CPC represents the alumni constituent groups, and its president holds a seat on the Wayne State University Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Recruiting and development continues for the EAA and for the Board of Directors, with a special focus on building active EAA membership. Several EAA board committees offer opportunities for alumni to become more involved as they support the WSU College of Engineering.
I urge you to become a member of the Wayne State University Alumni Association and the Engineering Alumni Association . There are many rewards that accompany membership - and even more that accompany active involvement.
Tony Duminski, BSEE'65, MSEE'69, MBA'82