History
Below are milestones in the life of the School of Engineering Education in the context of Purdue's longstanding advances in educational innovation.
Milestones
| 1969 | The College of Engineering creates the Interdisciplinary Engineering Program. |
| 2004 | Purdue establishes the School of Engineering Education (ENE), the first of its kind in the nation, bringing together the First-Year Engineering Program (formerly the Department of Freshman Engineering), the Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering (IDE) undergraduate program, and a new graduate program in engineering education. |
| 2004 | The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approves the School's Master's Degree and PhD in Engineering Education. |
| 2006 | The IDE undergraduate program is split into two programs: the Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies (IDES) program and the new Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE) program. More about the history of MDE/IDES. |
| 2006 | For the next three years, ENE faculty leads in ASEE's Year of Dialogue (2006-07), in the 2006 National Engineering Education Research Colloquies, in the 2008 Research in Engineering Education Symposium, and in the 2009 NSF-sponsored symposium "Creating Engineering Education Opportunities: Why and How?", making fundamental and comprehensive contributions to the development of the national research agenda and its advancement. |
| 2006 | ENE grants the the first PhD in the emerging field of engineering education. |
| 2006 | ENE founds the INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering. |
| 2007 | The Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE) undergraduate program is granted accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. |
| 2008 | The Ideas to Innovation Learning Laboratory opens, engaging first-year students in the engineering design process. |
| 2009 | The Kamyar Haghighi Headship of Engineering Education is endowed. |
| 2010 | The Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professorship in Engineering Education is endowed. |
| 2012 | The Crowley Family Professorship in Engineering Education is endowed. |
| 2018 | ENE's Teaching and Learning in Engineering Graduate Certificate was approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. |
| 2018 | An Indiana Commission for Higher Education-approved version of the Teaching and Learning in Engineering Graduate Certificate goes online. |
| 2019 | An Indiana Commission for Higher Education-approved version of the Master of Science in Engineering Education goes online. |
| 2023 | The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) inducts seven ENE-affiliated individuals to its Hall of Fame, underscoring ENE's trailblazing role in enriching how engineers are prepared. No other university appears more than once on the new inductee list of 30 individuals. |
Directors of ENE Undergraduate Programs: Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies/Multidisciplinary Engineering
| Richard Grace (Founding Head) |
1969-1982 |
| David Kessler |
1982-2000 |
| Phillip Wankat* |
2000-2014 |
| Mary Pilotte (Director) |
2014-2023 |
| Robin Adams (Director) |
2023-2025 |
| Justin Hess and Morgan Hynes (Interim Co-Directors) |
2025- |
Associate Heads of ENE Graduate Programs
| Senay Purzer (Associate Head) |
2023- |
Heads of the School of Engineering Education
| Kamyar Haghighi (Founding Head) |
2004-2009 |
| David Radcliffe (Interim Head) |
2009-2010 |
| David Radcliffe (Kamyar Haghighi Head) |
2010-2016 |
| Audeen Fentiman (Interim Head) |
2016-2017 |
| Donna Riley (Kamyar Haghighi Head) |
2017-2023 |
| Edward Berger (Interim Head) |
2023-2025 |
| Joyce Main (Kamyar Haghighi Head) |
2025- |
*The Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering joined the School of Engineering Education in 2004, at which time Dr. Wankat's title changed from Head to Director of the program.
