Friends, former students and colleagues of Ben Streetman have joined together to create the Ben G. Streetman Dean's Legacy Endowment, in honor of a man who has given so much of himself to the lives of his students, colleagues and the alumni of the Cockrell School of Engineering. The endowment has already received more than $1 million dollars, and all pledges made to the Streetman Endowment may be paid over two calendar years.
Funds distributed from the Ben G. Streetman Dean's Legacy Endowment will be used in perpetuity to support the Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering. The annual distribution may be used, by way of example but not limitation, for the development of new and innovative programs, special incentive awards, seed money for research, travel for students and professors, student organization activities, and School-related initiatives to promote excellence within engineering education. Funds distributed from the endowment shall be overseen by the Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering. All initiatives supported by fund distributions from the Streetman Endowment will be recognized publicly (e.g. "made possible through the support of the Ben G. Streetman Dean's Legacy Endowment...").
Unrestricted funds of this nature are crucial in helping the School address the ever-changing needs of the faculty and the student body. In recognition of Ben's 12 years as dean of the Cockrell School and his extraordinary service to The University of Texas at Austin, former students, friends and colleagues wish to establish this endowment as a way to connect Ben's name to engineering excellence for generations to come. Ben's impact on the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the School as a whole, over the last 26 years has been profound. Help us to honor the legacy of this great and accomplished man.
Some of the major accomplishments of Dean Streetman's administration:
- Due to retirements and resignations, and the addition of our new biomedical engineering program, about half the current faculty were hired during the past 12 years. These 136 new faculty included 116 assistant professors due to Dean Streetman’s emphasis on replacing retiring senior faculty with young people, generally fresh from earning a Ph.D. or serving in post doctoral positions. This policy lowered the average age of the faculty and brought in energetic young people with new ideas. Among these were 22 women faculty hired during this time. Half of the new faculty earned their Ph.D. from highly ranked engineering schools at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UT Austin, Illinois, or MIT.
- An aggressive recruiting program seeking to increase the number of top students in each year’s freshman class resulted in quadrupling the number of incoming students with SAT scores of 1400 or above. Before Dean Streetman arrived, 91 freshmen scoring 1400 or above enrolled in UT engineering. In 2007, 379 freshmen scoring at that level enrolled in the Cockrell School. One-third of the currently enrolled freshman class has an SAT score of 1400 or above.
- The Cockrell School’s undergraduate engineering program is ranked 9th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, and 5th among public schools. The graduate program ranks 11th overall, and again 5th among public schools.
- The Cockrell School’s endowment has increased by 55 percent. The current market value of engineering endowments is $384M, including $225M for faculty endowments, $131M for scholarships and fellowships, and $28M for program support. The faculty endowed positions include 58 chairs, 75 professorships, and 72 faculty fellowships. These endowments provide about $18M per year in support for faculty, students and programs.
- The Biomedical Engineering Department was created by moving nine faculty from other departments and adding 21 new faculty. The department was then merged with biomedical programs at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the UT Health Science Center in Houston. A newly completed biomedical engineering building will host a dedication ceremony on August 28.
- In 2007 the College of Engineering was renamed the Cockrell School of Engineering in honor of Ernest Cockrell, Jr., a 1936 petroleum engineering graduate and founder of the Cockrell Foundation. The Cockrell Foundation investments in the school amount to an equivalent endowment in excess of $220M.
Dean Streetman Tribute Video
