Executive Summary

As a college with a balanced responsibility for research, education, and community support, Washington State University’s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture (VCEA) serves as the cornerstone of innovation and workforce development for the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region.

Activities to update Voiland College’s strategic plan were initiated in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a temporary pause in planning to allow community members to focus on managing the pandemic-induced disruptions and to gain an understanding of which, if any, of the modifications initiated during the pandemic were likely to be long-lasting. Once our operations had stabilized, planning efforts resumed. Numerous listening and feedback sessions were conducted with employees and industry partners, as well as a college-wide survey.

Feedback from this outreach gravitated around four main themes:

• Student Success and Belonging
• Research, Creativity, and Engagement
• Employee Development, Wellness, and Culture
• Infrastructure

---

History of Voiland College

Washington State University’s (WSU) educational offerings have included a focus on engineering and related disciplines since the very beginning. In 1897, two of WSU’s first seven graduates, Orin Hector Stratton and Carl Estby, received degrees in civil engineering.

Over the past 30 years, Voiland College has seen incredible growth—going from operations on a single campus in Pullman to an evolving system of interconnected programs in the cities of Bremerton, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. In 2013, WSU added new electrical and mechanical engineering programs in Bremerton and Everett to better serve the needs of the Puget Sound region. In 2022, Voiland College extended PhD opportunities to Vancouver.

Established under the mission of a public land-grant institution—to provide education to all, conduct scholarly inquiry that benefits society, and share expertise that boosts the lives of individuals and communities—Voiland College continues to have a tremendous impact on the communities it serves. As the college grows and evolves, we seek opportunities for strengthening and expanding that impact.

Voiland College Today

As one of largest colleges in the WSU system, Voiland College saw a student enrollment of more than 4,700 undergraduates enrolled in the fall of 2022. At the undergraduate level, the population is highly diverse with 22% female students, 25% of the student populuations are Pell-grant eligible (a marker of limited family financial resources), 35% are students of color, 32% are the first in their families to attend college, and more than 85% of undergraduate students are from the state of Washington.

At the graduate and professional levels, Voiland College hosts students from around the world. More than 33% of members of the graduate community are women and about 50% of Voiland College graduates are from the USA.

In 2023, Voiland College has nearly 400 employees, including 135 tenured or tenure-track faculty whose work contributed to more than $30.7M in research expenditures.

Voiland College serves both the WSU system and its local community by:

• Supporting the full range of engineering, computer science, and architecture disciplines and engaging in high-quality sponsored research;
• Welcoming and supporting a diverse cohort of students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college, for whom a Voiland College degree has the potential to change the trajectory of their lives and their communities;
• Actively engaging with corporate partners to ensure that our accredited degree programs are current and optimally designed to meet the needs of our graduates today and in the future and that the research conducted is designed to have maximum impact on society.

Mission

As a core college in a Research University with Very High research activity,* as well as a land-grant university, our mission is threefold:

• To conduct fundamental and applied disciplinary and cross-cutting research that leads to new knowledge, transformative technology, and innovative designs;
• To educate and prepare students through state-of-the-art programs, preparing them for professional careers and leadership in engineering and design professions;
• To engage people, industry, and communities to improve quality of life and enhance economic development.

Vision

Founded on the principles of collaboration, innovation, and transformation, the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture is a world leader in providing solutions to societal grand challenges and quality “work-ready, day-one” graduates.

Strategic Planning

As a unit within Washington State University, Voiland College is guided by WSU’s Strategic Plan.

In addition, Voiland College’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan serves as the blueprint for providing direction on advancing the key goals and objectives our college will undertake to fulfill our mission and achieving our vision.

---

Main Themes