2020 marked the 80th anniversary of the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The department’s goal was to increase the number of student scholarship gifts to mark its anniversary.
“Our 80th year was a huge milestone. In that time, our department has emerged as one of the leading industrial and systems engineering departments in the world,” said former department head Dr. Mark Lawley. “Our hope for this celebration was to strengthen relationships with our former students and solicit their help in raising funds for undergraduate student scholarships. I am truly humbled and grateful to all former students who attended our events and participated in helping our current and future students.”
Early faculty members played an important role in developing the department by implementing extensive industry experience into the curriculum. Industry knowledge in motion and time study, production engineering, tool engineering, plant design and personnel issues became staples that paved the way for the future of industrial engineering education.
The department grew significantly throughout the decades. Lawley developed a former student outreach program to increase gifts and donations to mark the department’s 80th year milestone. With Dr. Lewis Ntaimo being appointed department head in 2020, growth continues to be at the forefront.
“We will continue the outreach efforts that Dr. Lawley started so that our department fulfills its vision of being a top-five program in the nation in the next five years and continues to attract the best students to Texas A&M,” said Ntaimo. “On behalf of the department, I am very grateful to all our donors for their generosity, especially during a pandemic.”
In March 2020, the outreach team held 18 online events reaching over 400 former students.