A special Commissioning Service marked the beginning of the College of Engineering at Houston Baptist University. The ceremony was held during the weekly student convocation on January 31.
The College of Engineering is recruiting the first cohort of students in the fall of 2018; students may major in Cyber Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science*. The launch is the result of work by the Engineering Advisory Board, University administration and the Board of Trustees, and especially the support provided by the MD Anderson Foundation and the Fondren Foundation.
During the ceremony, Dr. Robert B. Sloan, HBU president, described engineering as a field which mirrors God’s creative nature, and which embodies His commandments to the first humans in Genesis to be fruitful and to subdue and rule in the earth. “Engineering is the practice of taking ideas and information, and translating them into reality,” Sloan said. “When engineers build a structure, they’re extending order into God’s creation. To bring order, beauty and goodness into the world is an act of worship when we offer it back to God.”
Sloan charged the leaders of the college to remain true to its founding principles, and to the mission of the University as a whole. He credited the advisory board, chaired by W. Carl Glaw, for its commitment to seeing the college become a reality.
Dr. Stanley A. Napper, founding dean of the College of Engineering, described his involvement in helping start the college as an important mission. “We could become the best college in the world for incorporating STEM (science, technology engineering & math), IT (information technology) and faith,” he said. “Certainly, this specialty is needed in the Houston metropolitan area and in the entire country.”
Board member, and Memorial Hermann information security officer, Randy Yates, reiterated the need for experts in the engineering specialties. “Most people use technology in one way or another on a daily basis,” he said. “The possibilities for the graduates of the program are endless.”
The school continues to recruit students, faculty and support.
Visit the College of Engineering for more information.
(*The College of Engineering programs are pending approval from the regional accrediting body, SACSCOC.)