Strategic Plan

Fundamental Commitments to Our People

To “engineer” something is to design it skillfully and artfully for a particular purpose. This term implies intentionality, resourcefulness, adaptability, and careful focus. McKelvey is committed to thinking in this way about the experience of all members of our community. Our people are the driving force that makes our excellent research and education possible.

In pursuit of our vision and the strategic priorities that follow, we will ensure that our students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and staff are enabled and empowered to do their best work and be their full selves.

The McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is a leader in providing scientific insights and enabling technologies critical to solving fundamental research challenges of the world today and in preparing students for the rapidly changing world of tomorrow.”

— Dean Bobick

Mission

The mission of the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is to promote independent inquiry in engineering research and education with an emphasis on scientific excellence, equitable societal impact, and technological innovation — all fueled by seamless cross-disciplinary collaborations that span disciplines.

McKelvey Engineers produce new knowledge that changes the world, and our faculty are educating students to explore, create, and design solutions to challenges in an ever-diversifying world we cannot yet imagine. Through research and education, we are contributing toward positive systematic change in the local community, the country, and the world.

Vision

The strategic planning process has given McKelvey a chance to hone our bold, ambitious vision for our future. We will build on our strengths in research and innovation, augment our approach to education to meet the evolving needs of our students and prepare them to be the best version of themselves, expand the impact our school has on our people and society, and enhance our culture of inclusion and equity. We believe in the promise our vision represents for our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners.

1. Serves as a national and global leader in innovative engineering research and education that contributes to positive systematic change and is recognized for this leadership,
2. Creates meaningful and impactful connections to the innovation and economic communities in the greater St. Louis area and beyond,
3. Propels Washington University in St. Louis forward in support of the Here and Next strategic plan through transformative research, innovation and entrepreneurship, and equitable access to education for our emerging leaders and scholars, and
4. Fosters an equitable, inclusive, diverse, and desirable place to work and to learn.

Strategic Plan: From Excellence to Impact