Strategic Plan and Initiatives

The Penn State College of Engineering is guided by a comprehensive Strategic Plan that establishes a clear mission and vision for the college along with extensive goals and objectives for the 2020-25 timeframe. Additionally, as called for in the Strategic Plan, the college has also developed an Equity Action Plan with corresponding Equity Action Tables, as well as new Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Criteria. Collectively, these documents work together to help establish the path forward in engineering across the coming years. 

Strategic Plan 2020-25

The cornerstones of the College of Engineering are Excellence, Equity, Sustainability, and Social Mobility. While each is critical to the college’s advancement, they are interdependent—anyone cannot be achieved without the other three. The cornerstones are the anchors of the college’s culture and decision-making process. The college’s capstone is impact—on the institution, profession, people, and society. 

Download the Strategic Plan. 

Equity Action Plan and Tables

Through the College of Engineering Equity Action Plan—a strategic, sustainable iterative process to audit, evaluate, consult evidence, design (or redesign), and implement interventions to foster equity in engineering—we are committed to developing meaningful solutions to this critical challenge and to making significant strides toward a more diverse, inclusive community of belonging for all. 

Download the Equity Action Plan. 

Every member of the College of Engineering community has a role to play in advancing equity and inclusion efforts. While the Equity Action Tables are organized by the group targeted by the actions, many others may be able to contribute to and support the action projects for other stakeholder groups. All community members are encouraged to peruse the full set of action tables to find the opportunities most suited to their positions, skills, and passions.

Download the Equity Action Tables. 

Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Criteria

The purpose of the promotion and tenure guidelines and criteria is to provide guidance to tenure-line and professional track faculty, department heads, mentors, and internal and external evaluators for faculty career advancement in the College of Engineering. The guidelines are meant to provide transparency into the expectations for tenure and for promotion. Beyond those milestones, the guidelines also support continuous career advancement, encouraging our faculty to pursue trajectories aimed at the highest levels of impact, influence, and recognition. Furthermore, these guidelines aim to separate expectations from assessments, so our methods of assessment remain flexible and are able to evolve with the growing diversity of our faculty and their activities. 

Download the Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Criteria. 

Download the Professional Track Promotion Guidelines.