Recently recognized for excellence in engineering programs by CollegesOfDistinction.com, the Martin D. Walker School of Engineering and Technology at Olivet Nazarene University prepares students to become professional engineers with a focus on innovation and improving the lives of others.
Excellent facilities, experienced faculty and real-world experience give students the best possible start for their careers. Graduates go on to work with top companies and organizations around the globe.
Since 1998, Olivet’s engineering degree program has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org. Since 2011, the number of B.S.E. degrees conferred annually by Olivet has increased by 293 percent.
More than 90 percent of 2017 Olivet engineering graduates secured a job or entered graduate school within six months of graduation. Companies where graduates have interned and/or accepted full-time jobs include Caterpillar, CSL Behring, FAA, Ford Motor Company, Google, Honda, John Deere, Kellogg’s, Otterbox, Proctor & Gamble, State Farm — to name a few.
“I chose engineering because I like to be involved in solving problems,” says Catie Lindquist, a 2018 graduate who is now an electrical engineer with Northrup Grumman in the Chicago suburbs. Her senior engineering project with E2i, a local manufacturing automation company, involved designing a mobile app to size circuit components for a motor. While at Olivet, she also served as a teaching assistant for physics lab plus for courses in computational engineering and automatic controls.
She credits Professor Joseph Makarewicz, her advisor for her senior project and a former NASA engineer, for his positive influence. “Prof. Mak doesn’t like to settle,” she says. “He stretched me into learning more. He wants all his students to grow, challenge themselves and succeed.”
Steve Angus ’93 is now a senior engineer with Ford Motor Company. Currently, there are a total of 10 (at last count) Olivet engineering graduates working in multiple Ford Motor Company facilities. Steve says, “After the first Olivet engineers were hired at Ford, one of the supervisors came up to me and said, ‘Where did you get these guys? They are awesome!’”
Olivet’s Walker School of Engineering offers the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degree. Students choose a focus for their studies from the six engineering concentrations offered:
• Architectural
• Chemical
• Civil
• Computer
• Electrical
• Mechanical
Housed in Olivet’s Reed Hall of Science — which underwent a major expansion in 2014 to accommodate the growth of the engineering program — the Walker School of Engineering provides the space, tools and curriculum of a world-class program. Leading technology on campus features the Technology Center and four labs: Additive Manufacturing, Thermal Fluids, Mechanics and Structures, and Unit Operations.
Small classes afford close interaction with faculty members, who are experienced professionals in their respective specialties and gifted mentors for future engineers. With guidance from faculty mentors, students participate in top competitions, such as SAE Baja, American Society of Civil Engineers Concrete Canoe and Vex Robotics.
Olivet engineering students and graduates are “missioneers” — professionals who eagerly involve themselves in tangible mission opportunities designed to bring engineering knowledge and hope to developing world areas through design, science and innovation. Student missioneering teams serve internationally, working to solve real problems in a variety of global locations.
Professional networking opportunities for students help them build relationships necessary to shape their careers. The Walker School of Engineering offers additional opportunities to help students prepare for their future careers:
• An active student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) with membership open to men and women
• An active student chapter of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• A recently chartered student society of the American Society of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• Internship and co-op opportunities
• Career fairs
• Senior projects with real-world clients
To learn more about the Walker School of Engineering at Olivet, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
Published: 10/12/2018
