2022 Rose-Hulman President's Report

SUSTAINING EXCELLENCE

Sustaining Excellence in Recruitment

The fall semesters of 2021 and 2022 have marked record enrollment for Rose-Hulman. A total of 643 first-year students arrived in 2021 for orientation, journeying to Terre Haute from 38 states and nearly a dozen countries. In fall 2022, Rose-Hulman welcomed more than 600 first-year students for the second straight year, and only the third time in the institute’s history. The number of Indiana students has been up, along with the counts from California and other prominent markets.

Move-in day for first-year students is an annual tradition. The past two years have featured record enrollment, with more than 600 students joining the Rose-Hulman community in 2021 and 2022.

2021 INCOMING CLASS

643 FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

38 STATES

11 COUNTRIES

JULY 11, 2021

Indiana STEM teachers learned ways to incorporate sustainable energy lessons into classes through PRISM program’s boot camp sponsored by Duke Energy Foundation and alumni Becky and Frank Levinson.

JULY 28, 2021

The successful $250 million Mission Driven fundraising campaign increased scholarships, brought new campus learning spaces, and solidified the institute’s position as a national leader in undergraduate STEM education.

The incoming class was not just large, but also highly distinguished. The median high school grade-point average for both classes was 4.06, and many of the students were ranked first, second or third in their high school class and/or earned perfect scores on the SAT or ACT. Nearly 30% of both classes have been racially diverse and nearly 20% have been first-generation attendees and/or Pell Grant recipients.

The excellence demonstrated by these students can be attributed to a number of improvements in the recruiting process. Enrollment management has been re-engineered, data driven as in the past but even more scientific in nature. Marketing and outreach efforts have been refined as well. Playing a key role in this success are Rose-Hulman’s alumni and others within the campus community, who have been actively involved in broadening our recruiting network. Several other factors also helped Rose-Hulman attract a record number of students:

• Enhanced financial aid opportunities, including the $10 million Noblitt Scholars merit and leadership program; the Mussallem Scholars program bringing in more students from northwest Indiana and the Chicago area; and a number of targeted scholarship initiatives connected to the Mission Driven Campaign for Rose-Hulman.

• The new Rose Squared program, or R2 for short, making it possible for students to add a Master of Engineering Management or a Master of Civil Engineering specializing in Structures to their Bachelor of Science major and still finish in four years.

• There was no tuition increase in the fall of 2021.

>>> More details about the Fall 2022 class will be shared in next year’s report, but suffice it to say it was another strong year.

AUGUST 12, 2021

With Lilly Endowment Inc. support, the AskRose Homework Help program adds video math and science tutoring services to help middle school and high school students during the 2021-22 school year.

AUGUST 19, 2021

Rose-Hulman was among five U.S. colleges recognized for achieving sustained excellence in integrating best assessment practices and using assessment results to improve student learning.

Board chair and 1973 alumnus Niles Noblitt is seen here meeting with students. Enhanced financial aid opportunities, like the Noblitt Scholars program, have helped attract a wider range of academically gifted students.

Enhancing Our Connections

The work of building the pipeline of tomorrow’s engineers and scientists begins well before students arrive on campus in Terre Haute. Rose-Hulman is actively engaged in a variety of outreach programs that make early connections to future students and spark excitement about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

For example, this past April, robotics teams from 32 Indiana high schools and family/community groups gathered for the FIRST Indiana Robotics state championships at Rose-Hulman. Teams had been working for a few months with teachers and mentors, creating from-scratch robots about 4 feet tall and 125 pounds, designed for a game involving processing cargo for transportation.

More than 2,000 people, including several alumni judges, gathered in Rose-Hulman’s Sports and Recreation Center to watch the robots take on the challenge in the state championship. Alliances of robotic teams were tasked with gathering specific balls, delivering them to the center of the playing field, and preparing the cargo for transport.

“This showcased how exciting robotics and STEM can be for those actively involved in the building and competing of the robots—and the fans who came to watch the event,” says the event’s organizer, Carlotta Berry, PhD, the Lawrence J. Giacoletto endowed professor

of electrical and computer engineering. “Everyone was on edge to see which team was going to come out on top after completing several competitive rounds.”

Meanwhile, Rose-Hulman was one of two national sites hosting the prestigious 2022 Ross Mathematics Program over the summer. The six-week program welcomed 60 students ages 15 to 18, engaging them in intensive mathematics programming, exploring number theories and expanding their mathematical thinking.

The instruction was conducted by the Ross Mathematics Program associated with the University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University and Ohio Dominican University. This was a fitting complement to the regular summer pre-college programs offered by Rose-Hulman as a regular outreach.

Inviting young potential scientists, mathematicians and engineers to campus in the summer helps “create an environment that gives highachieving high school students from across America the opportunity to explore their interests in science, engineering, and mathematics as well as build college preparedness and competitiveness,” according to Rick Stamper, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Rose-Hulman has offered summer educational outreach opportunities for more than 50 years with Operation Catapult being the anchor program. The most recent newer offerings included both on-campus

The FIRST Indiana Robotics state championship returned to Rose in spring 2022, with dozens of high schools, thousands of spectators and several alumni attending and participating.

and at-home programs for high school students with STEM interests. “Students in summer programs get to interact directly with Rose-Hulman faculty and students and have a firsthand experience of what college life is like at Rose,” says Tom Bear, vice president for enrollment management.

One of the newest concepts is the Rose Power program, aimed at students in the ninth grade. It offers insights into STEM careers and inspiration from women role models, with attendees on campus for six days working in the institute’s innovation centers designing and building gadgets alongside faculty and students.

Rose Power is just one of the initiatives aimed at building STEM interest among high school students. Another is the PRISM EMERGE program, also an outreach to ninth grade high-school girls. Programs such as these are instrumental in Rose continuing to attract a diverse pool of applicants.

AUGUST 26, 2021

A new school year started with the opening of the New Academic Building, a 70,000-square-foot, $29 million building that features state-of-the-art design studios, collaborative workspaces and science labs.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Rose-Hulman was featured in The Princeton Review’s The Best 387 Colleges’ “Great Lists” for career services and professor accessibility, while also being highlighted as a Best Value College.

2021-22 TIMELINE OF ACHIEVEMENTS

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

The 2021-22 academic year started with a record 643 first-year students, more than 2,100 total students, and 89% of students and staff members filing proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

For the 23rd straight year, Rose-Hulman ranked No. 1 among U.S. undergraduate engineering colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Engineering departments earning top marks were civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

The computer science program climbed into the top 9% of all programs across America, tying for 51st in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of educators familiar with computer science departments.

Summer programs on campus, like Rose Power, are designed to build STEM interest among high school students.

Continued Recognition for Excellence

Who is the nation’s leading engineering college focused on education at the bachelor’s and master’s level? According to the U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Colleges Guide, it’s Rose-Hulman. And as impressive as that accolade is, it’s not actually new news—this is the 24th consecutive year that Rose-Hulman has been at the top of this list. The ranking is based on an annual survey of college engineering deans and senior faculty members. These experts rank 230 institutions on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 means “distinguished,” and the highest score was the 4.6 earned by Rose-Hulman. Zooming in a bit, Rose-Hulman earned top rankings in two academic department categories: electrical and mechanical engineering.

The Princeton Review publishes another widely read set of rankings, and Rose-Hulman fares quite well in the 2023 edition of its The Best 388 Colleges book. Rose-Hulman ranks first in internships and science lab facilities, third in career services as well as student support and counseling services, fifth in residence halls, sixth in career placement and sixth among “best run colleges.” The rankings are based on national student surveys.

Among the reasons that Rose-Hulman earns such stellar recognition is the fact that students tend to land great opportunities postgraduation. The Class of 2021 is a classic example: of 431 graduates, 426 had been placed within six months, a 99% placement rate that’s among the best in the country. The average starting salary was $73,800, and the highest reported offer was $145,000. Of those moving into graduate studies, Rose-Hulman students from the

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Physics and Optical Engineering

Assistant Professor Kosta Popovic, PhD, was named a 2021 Engineering Unleashed Fellow for creating educational experiences instilling students with an entrepreneurial mindset.

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Alumnus/Trustee David Hannum and his wife, Kathy, donated $1 million to establish a new scholarship fund to support future graduates of Vigo County high schools in attending the institute.

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

Technological advances by Rose-Hulman Ventures have children once again having fun learning about STEM after the reopening of Terre Haute Children’s Museum’s popular Run With the Animals exhibit.

NOVEMBER 20, 2021

The football team played in the NCAA Division III football playoffs for the second time in history after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a perfect 7-0 league record.

DECEMBER 8, 2021

An U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services grant is helping the John A. Logan Library increase technology and digital content to support student learning within health and safety pandemic protocols.

Class of 2021 earned invitations to attend graduate school at such prestigious institutions as Yale, Duke, Rice, Columbia, Cornell, and University of Pennsylvania.

Several other sources have put the spotlight on Rose-Hulman excellence in recent months. Here are some examples:

• Rose-Hulman ranks in the top 1% nationally for return on investment, according to two national studies that examine data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, Rose-Hulman offers a lifelong ROI of $2,358,802, which is second among all institutions in the Midwest. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce calculates a 40-year net present value and ranks Rose-Hulman 30th nationally and first in Indiana.

• The Princeton Review ’s ratings of “Best Value Colleges” places Rose-Hulman 20th among private colleges, and first in Indiana.

• PayScale’s ranking of “Best Value Colleges” ranks Rose-Hulman 22nd nationally, based on ROI, as well as first in Indiana.

• The 2023 “Niche Best Colleges” rankings list Rose-Hulman as Indiana’s best small college and safest small college campus, and second in the state for best value.

• The institute’s Army Reserved Officers’ Training Corps unit earned national recognition during the past year.

Known as the Wabash Battalion, the ROTC unit earned the MacArthur Award as the top program in the military branch’s 7th Brigade. It also was selected as the Army ROTC program’s candidate for the overall Department of Defense ROTC and Partner Institution Excellence Award.

• The Indiana Society of Professional Engineers honored Rose-Hulman and the civil engineering department at its annual conference. Overall, the society has lauded Rose-Hulman for more than 100 years of educational excellence in the pursuit of preparing engineers.

Campus Upgrades Enhance Student Experiences

Continually improving the physical campus is one key to sustaining excellence for the long-term, and Rose-Hulman has made significant commitments to facilities across the campus—including academic facilities and those touching student life and athletics.

Exceptional Academic Facilities

Perhaps the most prominent symbol of these commitments is the N ew Academic Building that has completed its first year of service to learning and innovation. The 70,000-square-foot, $29 million building is a hub of hands-on learning and intellectual creativity, with state-of-the-art design studios, collaborative workspaces and science laboratories.

Inside the new building, students are now transforming ideas to renderings to working prototypes, mixing chemical compounds, and even creating finished products. They work collaboratively and alongside professors, using sophisticated laser-cutting devices, 3D printers, machine tools, and CNC machines, among other technologies that match what they’ll encounter post-graduation.

At home in the new building is the engineering design program. There’s also a food science development and testing laboratory—a collaboration between chemistry and chemical engineering—along with additional space for instruction and research in chemistry and biochemistry.

Just one example of the facility’s unusual capacity for collaborative learning and community building was a Final Friday Cooking Club celebration in November 2021, taking advantage of

JANUARY 10, 2022

Mechanical engineering student Ruth Hammond was among three national 2022 Apple Scholars and started a global educational adventure at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

JANUARY 17, 2022

NASA planetary protection lead engineer Moogega “Moo” Cooper, PhD, shared her journey in becoming a real life “Guardian of the Galaxy” as the campus celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

the food science laboratory. The event was a respite from academic rigors but also a complement to such learning as the Chemistry of Food course, and it culminated in a fine meal for participants.

A central atrium within the new academic building puts the spotlight on the collaborative work happening all around—the hands-on learning that is a hallmark of a Rose-Hulman education. The colorful, interactive and high-tech “Depth of Field” artwork at the center is appropriate for a technology-focused space. And the building’s design and technology earned the state’s first Silver WELL Building certification, also fitting for a forward-thinking institution.

Even as the New Academic Building begins its service, the institute’s primary academic building is entering its second century with a significant renovation. Moench Hall recently turned 100 years old, and hasn’t had a major renovation since the 1980s, so it was due for some retrofits and upgrades.

It’s the building’s third renovation since it opened in 1922, at that time marking the move of the institution from downtown Terre Haute. The current renovation, slated to be completed by Summer 2023, will improve heating, air conditioning and ventilation, include remodeled offices, and improve student services. The building includes studio laboratories and is home to multiple engineering departments, along with the Departments of Mathematics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts.

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

Encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit within Indiana was the focus of a free workshop to help small businesses participate in federal innovation research and technology transfer programs.

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Math professors and students organized activities to get high school girls interested in mathematical science career fields during a Sonia Kovalevsky Math Day for Girls campus event.

“Depth of Field” central atrium artwork

New Moench Hall Café

The New Academic Building (left and above) has provided students and faculty with state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and collaboration space. Moench Hall (below), which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022, is undergoing extensive renovation.

Investing in the Student Experience

Developments around campus also enhance the student experience away from class, as well. Improvements in student housing, including renovations at Skinner and Scharpenberg halls, will help Rose-Hulman build on its reputation for comfortable student accommodations. Indeed, the institute’s residence halls ranked fifth on The Princeton Review’s list of best college dorms, based on student ratings. Campus improvements also include remodeling of the bookstore and mailroom. Adding to the highly regarded campus experience are trees, nearly a quarter million of them across 1,300 acres. The institute has been recognized for four consecutive years with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus Higher Education designation. The honor spotlights the campus commitment to effective urban forest management and the engagement of faculty, staff and students in conservation. Beyond regularly observing Arbor Day, Rose-Hulman has a tree advisory committee, a campus tree care plan, regular annual expenditures for its campus tree program, and a related student service-learning project—all requirements for the designation.

Growing the Campus

Plans continue for development of the Hulman Farm property on the south side of U.S. 40, which the institute acquired in 2017. Projects in the works include the relocation of Rose-Hulman Ventures, now located about six miles from campus. Private and federal support in tandem with $1.5 million in funding from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant program would help cover that move. The plan would bring Rose-Hulman Ventures’ real-world connections and opportunities closer to students and faculty.

This growth could be a defining moment for Rose’s distinctive ecosystem of engineering expertise, and offer an enterprise unlike that of any other college or university. The property offers additional long-term prospects for economic development and educational opportunities. Development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem we are calling “Innovation Grove” could provide significant benefits for faculty, the institution, the overall community, and most importantly, more internships and opportunities for students.

Residence hall updates, campus beautification efforts and plans for an “Innovation Grove” are all intended to enhance the student experience at Rose.

MARCH 3, 2022

Two national studies ranked Rose-Hulman within the top 30 colleges nationally for return on investment, with one study reporting that return at more than $2.35 million for alumni having a bachelor’s degree.

MARCH 11, 2022

Teams of high school students had miniature autonomous vehicles completing laps on a variety of racetracks in a high-tech challenge organized by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

MARCH 12, 2022

High school students had fun working together to design creative robotics and wireless communications projects centered around outer space in the Rose-BUD program’s SPARK! campus event.

MARCH 12, 2022

Middle school students earned opportunities for college scholarships and to represent the state against the nation’s best young problem solvers through the 2022 Indiana MATHCOUNTS competition, conducted on campus.

Enriching the Student Experiences

There’s nothing quite like living and learning among a population of equally curious individuals. The student experience at Rose-Hulman brings together exceptional instruction and invaluable hands-on, collaborative real-world ventures with faculty and other students. Surrounding that unique learning environment is an institutional experience that emphasizes collegiality, diversity and support.

The Rose Show is just one example of a student experience that’s uniquely Rose-Hulman. It’s essentially a World’s Fair of ingenious ideas, a showcase of everything from machine learning solutions to sustainability concepts to mobility devices and software applications.

The William A. Kline Innovation Award is essentially a “best in show” prize, named in honor of a great Rose thinker who was associate dean of innovation and supervisor of the Branam and Kremer Innovation Centers before his passing in March 2021. The Rose-Hulman Rover Team earned the honor at the most recent Rose Show for creating a remote-controlled arm able to lift heavy objects, type on a laptop keyboard and complete other tasks. The overarching intent was to

MARCH 23, 2022

The Wabash Battalion ROTC unit earned the 2022 MacArthur Award as the country’s No. 1 Army program based on its performances in readiness training and commissioning lieutenants for military service.

MARCH 24, 2022

A panel of five alumnae showcased the power of women in STEM in discussions that provided advice to current female students. The event was part of the campus’ Women’s History Month celebration.

MARCH 31, 2022

A crypto gift from alumnus/ trustee Koushik Subramanian established a fund for advancing technologies in digital assets. It also showcased how alumni are finding creative ways to support the institute.

APRIL 2-3, 2022

The inaugural Sawmill Society Weekend brought members of the innovative, entrepreneurial-minded alumni network together to share insights and experiences with others and students.

APRIL 7, 2022

A special Rose-Hulman Giving Day brought 602 gifts from alumni, faculty, staff, and friends to contribute a record $491,180 to meet the institute’s greatest needs, including student scholarships.

The Rose Show (right) and Sawmill Society (below) provide opportunities to connect students, alumni and the local community.

develop a device that could be useful for a rover exploring Mars or the Moon.

Another innovation on display at the Rose Show was a device designed by biomedical engineering students to attach to a treadmill for children undergoing therapy for low motor control in their legs, helping them improve their walking gait and stamina. Senior civil and environmental engineering students tackling real-world needs designed a multiuse trail, a new fire substation, improvements to an outdoor entertainment venue, along with an enclave for a Ghana village.

Also spotlighted at the Rose Show, mechanical engineering students collaborated to develop a new greenhouse and rainwater collection system to help Terre Haute’s ReTHink organization support community gardens. And a group of electrical and computer engineering students developed a way to support outdoor play and exercise for students at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The first Sawmill Society Weekend event, in April 2022, brought entrepreneurial alumni back to campus to share insights and experiences with other alumni as well as current students. The 2022 event included sessions on forming a startup company, angel investing and bringing diversity to entrepreneurship.

The Sawmill Society is composed of alumni and Rose-Hulman friends who have experience creating or leading tech or business enterprises, and its mission is to spread ideas, inspirations and networking opportunities that could support future endeavors. It has more than 80 members, including successful entrepreneurs and angel investors, and many of its members provide mentorship opportunities.

Women’s History Month provided an opportunity for conversations about “The Power of Women in STEM.” That was the topic of a panel discussion that brought five alumnae in front of a large group of current

APRIL 11, 2022

A Green Chemistry Commitment has the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry adapting green chemistry theory and practice, improving green chemistry accessibility, and working toward a sustainable future.

APRIL 14, 2022

APRIL 15-16, 2022

Indiana’s best high school and family/ community robotics teams competed on campus in the exciting “Ultimate Sport for the Mind” challenge during the FIRST Indiana Robotics state championships.

APRIL 20, 2022

U.S.

Rose-Hulman alumnae and students particpated in a panel discussion on “The Power of Women in STEM” (above), while high school girls got hands-on experiences at the Rose Power summer camp (opposite page, right).

Professor Julia Williams, PhD, is building connections between engineering professional societies and KEEN through a $457,500 grant from the Kern Family Foundation. Separately, Williams made an appearance on the “Jeopardy!” Professors Tournament.

Professors Michelle Marincel Payne, PhD, and Irene Reizman, PhD, receive a $142,200 Kern Family Foundation grant to help

STEM faculty convert research projects into high-impact innovations for students.

women students. They discussed ways to overcome gender inequalities in the workplace and shared ideas for helping women’s fresh STEM project perspectives earn the respect they deserve.

Rose-Hulman is committed to sustaining excellence in the experience of all diverse populations, among students, faculty and staff. The institute’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion manifests itself in a variety of efforts across campus.

Among the prominent examples from the past year is a new $644,873 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Indiana Youth Programs on Campus initiative. The program supports colleges and universities in creating enriching summer camp experiences for students historically underrepresented in higher education.

The Lilly Endowment grant provides three summers’ worth of support for Rose Power Camp, an experience for girls who want

to build confidence and skill by working in innovation centers. The first Rose Power Camp was a six-day experience focused on using the machines, tools, fabrication equipment and other resources at Rose-Hulman’s Branam and Kremer Innovation Centers and the New Academic Building.

The grant also supports three summers of Operation Catapult, the campus’ signature hands-on STEM camp inviting students to design, build and present a project from scratch. This past summer saw three 11-day sessions of Operation Catapult, which included challenges such as coding a computer program using Python, creating autonomous functionality for a car, designing a Frisbee thrower and, of course, building a catapult.

The importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM fields was highlighted at the 144th Commencement, when the Commencement address was delivered by Karl Reid, EdD, an engineer, writer, educator and national advocate for diversity and inclusion in engineering. Dr. Reid had been to campus before as executive director with the National Society of Black Engineers, when he visited to help the student chapter and the institute expand diversity recruitment.

Rose-Hulman also added Juneteenth to its calendar of official campus holidays. Also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, Juneteenth recognizes the date in 1865 when all enslaved African Americans in were officially emancipated.

Investing in Mental Health Services

Improvement in mental health is another aspect of Rose-Hulman’s commitment to sustaining excellence in the student experience. The institute is collaborating with nearby Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and DePauw University on MINDful Connections, a Lilly Endowment, Inc., grant aimed at elevating mental health support. The three institutions are working together on improvements in mental health counseling and support services.

The consortium will enable Rose to more efficiently and effectively focus on preventive care strategies and increase student access to mental health services. The three institutions will be able to share knowledge, experiences, and resources—like psychiatrists, counselors, and telehealth services—while retaining the ability to customize resources to the needs of their individual campus’ student populations.

“ We not only want to invite everyone to the party, but we want the music—the metaphor for the culture and climate of an institution— to be reflective of the people in the party so that everyone can thrive.”

— DR. KARL W. REID, COMMENCEMENT 2022

Dr. Karl W. Reid addresses the Class of 2022 in his Commencement address.

A Commitment to Excellence Through Philanthropy

Rose-Hulman’s ability to sustain excellence across its campus and programs—and ensure access to exceptional STEM students hoping to further their education in Terre Haute—is greatly boosted by the support of alumni and friends of the institute. That support comes in many ways, shapes and sizes, from recruiting assistance to mentoring to participation in campus events to generous philanthropic gifts.

Alumnus John Swearingen and his wife, Anne, were among those providing a significant lift in the past year. As loyal supporters of Rose-Hulman, their latest philanthropic effort is a $2 million donation that is establishing the Department of Chemical Engineering’s first

career to the digital finance space, focused on cybersecurity and such areas as digital assets and blockchain technologies. The $50,000 crypto gift is establishing the Subramanian Fund for Advancing Technologies in Digital Assets. Gifts of all sizes make a world of difference, as evidenced by the results of Rose-Hulman Giving Day in April. The 602 gifts from alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the institute added up to nearly $500,000, all pledged in one day of generosity.

endowed faculty professorship. Their gift also is supporting laboratory and technology modifications for the department, which marked the gift by naming the High Bay Laboratory in Olin Hall in their honor. A million-dollar gift from alumnus/trustee David Hannum and his wife, Kathy, is supporting a new scholarship fund for future graduates of Vigo County high schools. David Hannum, who is president and CEO of Garmong Construction Services, is one of a dozen members of the Garmong/Hannum families to graduate from Rose-Hulman. The new scholarship will provide four years of full tuition. Beyond graduating from a high school in Vigo County, candidates must meet Rose-Hulman’s rigorous academic entrance requirements, rank in the top 5% of their class, and be accepted into the Noblitt Scholars program.

Rose-Hulman’s first cryptocurrency gift came from Board of Trustee and alumnus Koushik Subramanian, who has dedicated much of his

John and Anne Swearingen (far left), Kathy and David Hannum (left) and Koushik Subramanian (below) were among Rose’s generous supporters. Such philanthropy is essential to the institute fulfilling its mission.

Persistence of Personal Achievement

At the heart heart of Rose-Hulman’s excellence are its people—the faculty, staff and students who together create an exceptional educational environment and experience. Their talents and impact are not exactly a secret, as the institute’s people regularly earn national honors for their educational quality and innovation, their research endeavors, and the way that they inspire and support all involved in teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The list of their honors, recognitions and grants is long and impressive. Here are just some of the highlights from the past year or so.

Carlotta A. Berry, PhD, the Dr. Lawrence J. Giacoletto Endowed Chair for Electrical and Computer Engineering, is on a roll with national teaching honors related to her efforts as an undergraduate robotics educator. She most recently earned the Society of Women Engineers’ Distinguished Engineer Educator Award. She also has been named the recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ 2023 Undergraduate Teaching Award. Dr. Berry earned the 2022 Distinguished Educator Award from the American Society of Engineering Education’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Division. And she was chosen as one of the first group of college educators participating in the Open Source Hardware Association’s new Trailblazer Fellows Program—the grant is to help her work with Rose-Hulman students incorporating open-source hardware resources into academia.

APRIL 21, 2022

Hannah Snider and Nathan Hurtig were named prestigious Goldwater Scholars for their significant contributions in national research projects. The institute has had 14 Scholars since 2004.

APRIL 26, 2022

A $644,873 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Indiana Youth Programs on Campus initiative is supporting students from historically underrepresented groups in higher education to attend the institute’s summer camps.

APRIL 28, 2022

Academic quality, affordability and strong career prospects ranked the institute 20th in The Princeton Review’s best value private college list, as well as No. 1 for internships and No. 6 for career services.

APRIL 29, 2022

For the fourth straight year, Rose-Hulman earned Tree Campus Higher Education honors by the Arbor Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management and conservation goals.

MAY 4, 2022

Nearly 100 student projects were featured in The Rose Show—”Rose-Hulman’s rendition of The World’s Fair—which featured a variety of sustainability solutions, mobility devices and software applications.

Dr. Carlotta Berry (shown above working with students) has received national teaching honors for her efforts in promoting STEM education.

Several Rose-Hulman faculty also have earned recognition from Kern Family Foundation and the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network. Kosta Popovic, PhD, assistant professor of physics and optical engineering, earned recognition as a 2021 Engineering Unleashed Fellow. Professor Julia Williams, PhD, will use a Kern Family Foundation grant to support efforts to connect engineering professional societies and the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network. A three-year grant is supporting the work of civil and environmental engineering Associate Professor Michelle Marincel Payne, PhD, and chemical engineering Associate Professor Irene Reizman, PhD.

Emma Dosmar, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is an advocate for the concept of “ungrading,” which she sees as an attractive and motivating alternative to traditional grading techniques. Her work has landed funding through a grant program launched by online learning platform Course Hero. The program aims to encourage new ideas in digital pedagogies along with social change STEM education. The grant will help her explore ungrading techniques in her first-year MATLAB course, as well as project-based learning practices in other STEM courses.

The Fulbright program is a highly esteemed international academic exchange program, and Rose-Hulman has been recognized as a leader producer of Fulbright participants. This past year, mathematics Professor Manda Riehl, PhD, was chosen for a Fulbright Faculty Scholar opportunity to collaborate with professors at Costa Rica’s Universidad Nacional. The opportunity includes helping academic professionals in Costa Rica develop a Math for Computer Science course and working with students in their calculus studies. Dr. Riehl is also slated to co-teach courses at the Costa Rican university for three months during the 2023-24 academic year.

The William H. Corcoran Award is an American Society for Engineering Education honor recognizing outstanding scholastic achievement in chemical engineering education. Daniel Anastasio, PhD, associate professor of chemical engineering, earned the honor by co-authoring an article in the Chemical Engineering Education journal that was named the year’s most outstanding. “Revealing the Decision-Making Processes of Chemical Engineering Students in Process Safety Contexts” resulted from research into experiential process safety training.

Faculty members aren’t the only ones landing recognition for work in prominent research projects. For example, Noblitt Scholars Nathan Hurtig and Hannah Snider were recognized as Goldwater Scholars, which is the preeminent honor for

MAY 5, 2022

A $2 million gift from alumnus John Swearingen and his wife, Anne, has established the Department of Chemical Engineering’s first endowed faculty professorship, along with supporting lab and technology modifications.

MAY 10, 2022

Math professor Manda Riehl, PhD, is the institute’s latest Fulbright Faculty Scholar, working with faculty colleagues and students in Costa Rica. Rose-Hulman was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars.

2021-22 TIMELINE OF ACHIEVEMENTS

MAY 12, 2022

The women’s golf team placed 21st at the 2022 NCAA Division III national championship in its second straight appearance. Junior Precious Saelee had a 72nd-place individual finish to lead the team.

MAY 13, 2022

The men’s tennis season team played in the NCAA Division III tournament for the seventh straight spring after winning the HCAC championship. The program has won 57 of its last 59 league matches.

Popovic Williams Marincel Payne Reizman Dosmar

Hannah Snider and Nathan Hurtig

Riehl

undergraduate students pursing degrees in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. The institute has had 14 students earn this distinction since 2004, and it’s the second year in a row that Rose-Hulman students have been honored.

Meanwhile, when they were undergraduate computer science majors, 2022 graduates Zeming (Eric) Chen and Qiyue (Bert) Gao gained the spotlight as research partners in the field of artificial intelligence and natural language processing. They co-authored multiple conference papers about their research into understanding how machines can achieve cognitive abilities similar to humans.

Cary Laxer, PhD, professor emeritus and former head of Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, was honored as an ABET Fellow. Dr. Laxer was spotlighted for longtime contributions to

training, for work in incorporating the computer science model curriculum into ABET accreditation criteria, and for helping the organization transition to virtual accreditation visits. Dr. Laxer’s 2021 honor was the second in a row for a Rose-Hulman faculty member—in 2020, that same spotlight was on Patsy Brackin, director of the engineering design program.

Dr. Kim Tracy has been named a “Distinguished Speaker” by the Association for Computing Machinery. Among his areas of expertise is software history, about which he authored a text for ACM Books. Rose-Hulman faculty have earned honors for not just educating but inspiring others. For example, Tracy Weyand, PhD, assistant professor of mathematics, is dedicated to building communities where women in mathematics thrive and feel welcome. Dr. Weyand’s efforts, including voluntary service to the national Association for Women in Mathematics, earned a Service Award from the organization.

Meanwhile, Kevin Sutterer, PhD, was presented the Thomas A. Morris Engineering Leadership Award at the Annual Conference of the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers. It’s an award honoring a Professional Engineer who has been both a successful engineering leader and a positive role model for other engineers.

And Kevin Lanke was honored for promoting the ideals of being a student-athlete and ongoing service to the Academic All-America program. As associate athletic director for communications and public relations at Rose-Hulman, he earned the 2022 Lester Jordan Award from the College Sports Information Directors of America. Lanke, a 1997 alumnus, is that organization’s core committee chair for the Academic All-America program, supervising a committee of 150 members from NCAA Division I, II and III schools, NAIA schools and the College Division, focusing on that program’s publicity, operations and new media efforts.

MAY 19, 2022

Comedian Hasan Minhaj presented a donor-sponsored private campus show to reward students, faculty and staff for successfully achieving COVID-19 vaccination goals.

MAY 20, 2022

The Athletic Department captured the HCAC men’s all-sports trophy, while placing third in women’s sports—to place a close second in the league’s Commissioners Cup standings.

MAY 28, 2022

The Class of 2022 culminated its challenging college careers by earning 385 degrees at Commencement. Northeastern University Chief Inclusion Officer Karl Reid, PhD, addressed the graduates and joined alumnus/trustee David Hannum in receiving honorary degrees.

JUNE 14, 2022

Swimmer Colin Beach and baseball player

continued Rose’s string of 37 straight years with at least one Academic All-American. Beach was a second-team selection;

Josh Mesenbrink

Mesenbrink was a third-team choice.

Zeming (Eric) Chen and Qiyue (Bert) Gao

Anastasio Laxer

Tracy Weyand Sutterer Lanke

Financial Snapshot

Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2022

JUNE 19, 2022

Rose-Hulman began celebrating Juneteenth as an official campus holiday. The Center for Diversity and Inclusion partnered with community groups to help commemorate Emancipation Day or Freedom Day.

JUNE 22, 2022

An electronic travel aid for visually impaired earned mechanical engineering students Alyssa Taylor and Joseph Lahmann top honors in the ASME’s Biomechanics BioTransport Bioengineering Conference.

JUNE 24, 2022

Sixty highly motivated pre-college students explored their math interests through the prestigious Ross Mathematics Program. Rose-Hulman was one of two national sites for this year’s summer camp.

FISCAL YEAR 2021-22

JUNE 29, 2022

Professor Carlotta A. Berry, PhD, earned IEEE’s 2023 Undergraduate Teaching Award and 2022 Distinguished Educator Award from the ASEE’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Division.

Closing Thoughts

The past three years have presented unparalleled challenges in the form of a global pandemic, emerging social issues and dramatic fluctuations in the economy. Despite these pressures, Rose-Hulman continues to thrive.

We have seen record numbers in enrollment, record numbers of employers seeking out our students for internships, co-ops, employment and graduate school opportunities, and record numbers in gifts from our loyal alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and supporters of our mission and vision to provide the world’s best undergraduate science, engineering and mathematics education in an environment of individual attention and support.

We have been able to excel in these areas because of the successful foundation that has been laid over the past nearly 150 years of our history. That sustained excellence has paved the path for our current achievements and set us up for a future where we can be even more bold, visionary and build upon our already established distinction in STEM education.

As we approach our sesquicentennial in 2024, the leadership team and I are working closely on a robust, stakeholder-focused strategic plan to set the framework for the direction for the Institute over the next decade. What makes this process so exciting is that we are operating from a position of strength as we formulate these plans. We’re establishing goals that we believe will only strengthen Rose-Hulman’s position in the higher education landscape for years to come.

Robert A. Coons | PRESIDENT

With so many pieces already in place to build from—starting with our talented and dedicated faculty and staff, our devoted and successful alumni, our academically gifted students, our world-class educational, collaboration, innovation, and athletic spaces, and national rankings from independent and respected organizations that affirm the value and return on investment of a Rose-Hulman education—the future here is certainly bright.

However, we know that with success comes opportunity, and if the past few years have shown us anything it’s that we need to prepare for the unexpected. This includes preparing our students for success in career fields that don’t yet exist, and providing them with the resources and technologies needed to thrive. It also includes finding more ways to make a Rose education affordable. While our momentum is strong, now is the time when we must press even harder on the proverbial accelerator to continue to advance our mission. Now is when we need the talents, treasures and time of our most loyal supporters like you.

Thank you for all you have done, continue to do and will do for Rose-Hulman. Our sustained excellence is truly because of individuals like you.