AN UNSUNG HERO OF THE EDUCATION SOCIETY: PROFESSOR WILLIAM SAYLE
Generally a person's character is not defined by the raw data involving their educational background, their position in their institution, and such things. But I'm going to start there with Bill Sayle as it paints the underlying picture of one of those people who accomplishes a great deal and goes out-of-their-way to help others reach their potential!

Bill is one of those people who is a model of the scholarly understated professor that every student and faculty member should work with from time-to-time.

Dr. William E. Sayle II received the B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1963 and 1964 respectively. He received the Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Washington at Seattle in 1970. Dr. Sayle worked for the Boeing Company for five years and performed research in the area of radiation effects on semiconductor devices. He has also worked for Hughes Aircraft Company in the area of radar circuitry. He has worked several summers for Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in bipolar logic, for Motorola Government Electronics in switching power converters, and for Lockheed Missiles & Space Company in spacecraft power conversion. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of Georgia and Washington.

In a long and distinguished career Bill has been a stalwart to the Education Society. As editor of The Interface for the past 10 years, Bill has consistently produced a top-quality publication. Since 1989, Professor Sayle has spent most of his time in academic administration with Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and in various volunteer activities with the IEEE and ABET in accreditation-related matters.

In 1996 he received the FIE conference's Ronald Schmitz award, which is given for service to the FIE conference itself. In 2001, he was presented with the Education Society's Mertiorius Service Award, which is is given for outstanding leadership and service to the IEEE Education Society over a sustained period of time; this typically includes leadership and service in one or more of the following areas: the Frontiers in Education Conference, The Interface (the Society's newsletter), The IEEE Transactions on Education, and/or Administrative Committee activities. And in 2004 he received the Education Society's Achievement Award, which is is given for outstanding and sustained contributions to engineering education; and he also received the 2004 IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious Achievment Award in Accreditation Activities.

Since 1983 he has been active in engineering accreditation activities for IEEE and ABET. He served as an IEEE program evaluator for over 20 institutional visits for the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET. In 1990 he was elected to an at-large position on the IEEE Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA), which recruits, trains, mentors, and evaluates IEEE program evaluators for the EAC of ABET. In 1995 and 1996 he chaired the CEAA and in 1996 and 1997 he chaired the IEEE Accreditation Policy Committee, which oversees IEEE accreditation activities in both engineering and engineering technology. From 1998 through 2004, he was elected by IEEE to serve as a member of the EAC and in this capacity chaired visits to six institutions.

In 1993 he served as program evaluator for an ABET substantial equivalency visit to King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. In 1994, he chaired a substantial equivalency visit to Middle East Technical University in Turkey and in 1997 served as a program evaluator on the substantial equivalency visit to Bilkent University in Turkey. He also served as a program evaluator on the substantial equivalency visit to Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in 2002.

Yes, Bill have received many of the awards that are available. He has been a leader in the field of engineering education. But equally as important, he has a long and distinguished career of doing those things that easily go unnoticed—being the scholarly professor, a student's mentor, a colleague's role model.

QUALITY OF ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS
An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that a research study concluded that degrees that were completely offered on-line were more successful than eclectic sets of courses offered online. Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Rob Abel, states that degree programs that are completely online "are more aligned with institutional mission and represent more substantial support by faculty and students."

NAE: GORDON PRIZE ANNOUNCED
The 2005 Gordon Prize was awarded to Purdue's Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program and to recipients Leah H. Jamieson, William C. Oakes, and Edward J. Coyle. This award was given:

for innovations in the education of tomorrow's engineering leaders by developing and disseminating the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program.

Inaugurated in 2001 by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the intent of the Gordon Prize is to recognize new modalities and experiments in education that develop effective engineering leaders. The focus is on innovations such as curricular design, teaching methods, and technology-enabled learning that strengthen students' capabilities and desire to grow into leadership roles.

The Gordon Prize is presented annually, and the recipient receives a $500,000 cash award, half granted to the recipient and the remainder granted to the recipient's institution to support the continued development, refinement, and dissemination of the recognized innovation. NAE members and non-members who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., and who currently are and have been substantially engaged in their engineering and scholastic work in institutions within the U.S. are eligible for the Gordon Prize.

REVAMPING THE TENURE SYSTEM IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Brown University's Notes on Media publication reports that the tenure system should be less rigid to reflect modern lifestyles. In a recent report the leaders of 10 research universities said that higher education should consider changing the tenure system drastically to make academic careers less rigid, particularly for professors raising young children.

Robin Wilson from the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that:

A panel of higher education leaders from major universities and university systems has recommended that the tenure track be made more flexible to better reflect the demands of today's world. Specifically, they recommend that faculty be given up to ten years to achieve tenure, that faculty be allowed multi-year leaves of absence for personal and professional reasons, that faculty be permitted to step into part-time status for up to five years, and that ways be devised to provide for the re-entry into the academic life of faculty who stop out along the way

CALL FOR PAPERS: ICL2005 IN AUSTRIA
This interdisciplinary conference aims to focus on the exchange of relevant trends and research results as well as the presentation of practical experiences gained while developing and testing elements of interactive computer aided learning. Therefore pilot projects, applications and products will also be welcome.

SOME INTERESTING READINGS: REVISITING BOYER ON SCHOLARSHIP
Here are a few articles that may be of interest to Education Society members:

One of the most influential books to stimulate interest in the term scholarship in higher education was the formative book by E.L. Boyer entitled: "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate," which was published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1990. This book is available from Amazon.com for approximately USD $14.

IEEE POLICY: OUR ETHICS
This is not a new policy statement, I just thought it was worth posting as a review.

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:

1. to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;
2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;
3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
4. to reject bribery in all its forms;
5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;
6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;
7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin;
9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;
10. to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.

Approved by the IEEE Board of Directors
August 1990

UNDERSTANDING IEEE MEMBERSHIP
IEEE membership is open to professionals and Students with varying levels of academic accomplishment and work experience. Technical and non-technical applicants who would benefit by membership and participation in the IEEE enter as Associate members

Member and Senior Member grades recognize those who have achieved professional proficiency, as demonstrated by degrees received and/or work experience.