SMU Dean Geoffrey Orsak on Engineering Education

don’t think there’s any doubt that the kids are well-equipped to think and problem solve, but schools are overly focused on preparing kids for their first job. The question might be how well-prepared are students for a very uncertain and diverse future. That is a question that has not been studied very carefully and I would suspect we find the answers to be less than positive.
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Just because you spent 20 years in the classroom doesn’t mean you are prepared to step on the other side of the desk and teach. I wish universities and especially the great ones would make the training of teachers a higher priority. It simply is not the case and because of that, all of us suffer in our ability to hire faculty.
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the university faculty has two primary roles, which are to expand the knowledge base and translate that to students. The need for faculty to push the boundaries of knowledge is absolutely critical.