The year 2019 marks the silver anniversary of the 1994 merger between the Bridgeport Engineering Institute (BEI) and Fairfield University, and plans are underway for a yearlong celebration of reinvention and innovation.
On August 1, 1994, the Bridgeport Engineering Institute – after 70 years of moving between rented spaces and borrowed labs – found a permanent home at 1073 North Benson Road. In the merger, Fairfield University gained a hardworking School of Engineering with a vocation of service to humanity that perfectly complements its Jesuit mission to form men and women for others.
During the past 25 years, the engineering school at Fairfield has grown from a part-time, evening school with deep local roots, into an internationally recognized full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree granting program with undergraduate and graduate students who hail from all corners of the globe.
25th anniversary celebrations will kick off for students on campus during National Engineers Week (EWeek), which takes place this year from February 17 to 23. In coalition with more than 70 national engineering, educational, and cultural societies across the country, as well as more than 50 corporations and government agencies, Engineers Week is an annual event designed to raise awareness and interest in engineering and technology careers.
Half a dozen student engineering clubs in the School of Engineering are currently planning a variety of Engineers Week events designed to give the rest of campus an engaging and inspirational glimpse of the ways in which engineers make a difference in society.
Activities will include a campus-wide scavenger hunt, a student meet-and-greet with the dean of the School of Engineering, Richard Heist, PhD, a career development day, a “Commemorating Black Inventors” event, hands-on technology demonstrations, an engineering students brunch, and a movie screening. Students are encouraged to seek event and registration information on OrgSync.
Engineers Week campus events are coordinated by the School of Engineering’s Professional Development Series (PDS), a comprehensive program designed to supplement the academic development of engineering students through outside-the-classroom engagement.
Stay tuned for announcements of other upcoming events and lectures being planned in the year ahead to commemorate 25 years of the School of Engineering at Fairfield University.
