“I have always felt that being a researcher and being an educator go hand in hand because as a researcher, you are discovering; you are creating new knowledge. Then, as an educator, you are sharing the knowledge, and you are relating it to the things that students know, hopefully in a way that they can start to build on. Then they’ll slingshot that on up to their own new, great discovery,” said Dean David Brown of Ogden College of Science and Engineering (OCSE). Brown began at WKU on July 1 with a focus on student-centered learning and giving students an opportunity to see themselves as real-world problem solvers.
Brown shared, “Involving students in the research not only provides a cool experience, it gives them practice at solving problems that don’t have an answer in the back of the book. That is the thing that really sets the research experience apart.”
As dean, Brown leads the nine academic units that make up the college. Students can choose from 57 majors, minors, and certificates. OCSE provides countless opportunities for students to engage in applied learning and research through its 13 centers that fall under its Applied Research and Technology Program.
