Resolution for the Faculty Senate
to Establish an
Undergraduate Degree in Biomedical Engineering

WHEREAS, the UD Path to Prominence in section III in the subsection entitled Create the University Health Initiative states that UD will “become a recognized leader in health sciences” and “the University will expand its health and medical education,”

WHEREAS, the strategic plan of the College of Engineering states “To train students for careers in multidisciplinary fields, the College should develop new undergraduate degree programs and even full-scale departments in areas such as bioengineering,”

WHEREAS, student demand for a degree in biomedical engineering has been growing with 50 freshmen undeclared engineering students expressing interest in majoring in biomedical engineering Fall of 2009,

WHEREAS, a proposed program modeled on the best practices of the top ten ranked biomedical engineering programs and tailored to the strengths of UD’s College of Engineering has been created,

WHEREAS, the proposed program will not represent a significant increase in engineering students but rather a redistribution of students within the college, minimizing its disruption to the university,

WHEREAS, students in the this program would not be taking new engineering courses until their junior year, allowing ample time for preparation for new courses,

WHEREAS, the new program will substantially benefit the reputation of University of Delaware by establishing us as a leader in biomedical engineering education and strengthen our partnership in Health Science Allience,

RESOLVED, that the Faculty Senate approves provisionally, for five years, the establishment of a new major leading to the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (BBE) degree, effective September 1, 2010.