The Trail to Tomorrow

The College of Engineering's Strategic Plan

Our Trail to Tomorrow Strategic Plan serves as a flexible roadmap that reflects our ambitions, aligns with the university’s vision through Prosperity Widely Shared, and positions the college to thrive in a changing higher education landscape. Guided by the leadership team and input from the college, alumni, and industry leaders, it was officially launched on June 5, 2026 during our inaugural Engineering Summit.

The Trail to Tomorrow established five strategic goals and accompanying actions aimed to enable the College of Engineering to adapt to the rapidly changing technological, economic, and societal landscape.

A trail in the woods surrounded by grass and trees.

5 Strategic Goals

1. Build, Retain, and Reward Engineering Talent

  • Reinforce a culture of engagement, presence, accountability, and shared ownership for the success of the college.
  • Expand and improve differentiated career and advancement pathways for (instructional) faculty, advisors, and professional staff.
  • Modernize promotion, tenure, and evaluation systems to reward innovation, entrepreneurship, research impact, and external engagement.
  • Implement transparent and flexible workload models aligned with community-informed strategic priorities and collective bargaining agreements.
  • Optimize the organizational structure to serve the activities above, while strengthening partnerships to make the local community a premier place to live and work.
Two people looking at a small petri dish.

2. Transform Engineering Education for Student Success and Workforce Preparedness

  • Build a coordinated student success and professional readiness ecosystem that integrates advising, tutoring, well-being, and belonging while developing the mindset, resilience, and skills students need to lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving global workforce.
  • Create a college-wide learning design and educational innovation hub to support modern, inclusive, and high-impact teaching.
  • Reimagine how engineers are educated, embedding discovery-based, AI-native learning environments and experiential learning to redesign learning to feel like discovery, leveraging experiential pedagogy, digital tools, simulations, and immersive tech.
  • Enhance graduate and professional competitiveness through streamlined programs, market-aligned credentials, and experiential learning.
  • Strengthen K-12, first-year, and transfer pathways through aligned academic, social, and professional supports.

3. Design, Build, and Launch Through Entrepreneurial Engineering

  • Implement a Design–Build–Launch framework that integrates entrepreneurship across curricula and co-curricular experiences while leveraging partnerships across OSU, higher education, industry, government, and the regional innovation ecosystem.
  • Expand student clubs, competitions, and project teams as engines for innovation, leadership, and industry engagement.
  • Create visible innovation and leadership hubs that anchor entrepreneurial culture and community.
  • Launch and scale an alumni- and industry-connected venture ecosystem, including seed funding and mentorship.
  • Prepare students for dynamic careers through portfolio-based professional development and experiential pathways domestically and abroad.
Two men inspecting a lab instrument.

4. Lead The Next Era of Discovery, Innovation, and Societal Impact

  • Establish breakthrough-driven research ecosystems that prioritize step-change advances over incremental progress, enabling entirely new domains of inquiry.
  • Accelerate discovery at unprecedented scale and speed, leveraging AI, robotics, autonomy, and intelligent systems to compressing discovery timelines and expand the frontier of what can be imagined, explored, and achieved.
  • Establish a coherent centers and institutes strategy with clear governance, sustainability, and growth models.
  • Enable human-centered and responsible discovery, ensuring advances are ethical, trustworthy, and aligned with societal benefit.
Two students holding a lab instrument.

5. Accelerate Economic Development for Oregon and Beyond

  • Position the college as a partner of choice for industry, using sector-based and mission-aligned engagement models that leverage alumni, donors, employers, and coordinated visibility efforts in alignment with the university’s Economic Development and Industry Relations strategy.
  • Strengthen employer access to students, industry-supported graduate education, and workforce-aligned research pathways.
  • Deepen partnerships with national laboratories, federal agencies, and build consortia to respond to federal opportunities.
  • Invest in shared research infrastructure and technical services that accelerate applied research and translation.

Contact Us

Interested in supporting these efforts? Email Forrest Masters, Kearney Dean of Engineering:

forrest.masters@oregonstate.edu