Advisory Board Guiding Principles

Background 
This document provides information about the University of Kansas (KU) Chemical & Petroleum Engineering (C&PE) Advisory Board. It is available to any interested person or institution.  

Role of the Advisory Board 
The Advisory Board provides an organized and interactive forum for communication between the professional community, C&PE faculty, and C&PE students to maximize Department performance. The role of the Advisory Board is to:   

• Provide input on the needs, priorities, and trends of industry, government, and the professional community as they relate to the Department's mission, curriculum, course content, and research focus.
   
• Provide mentoring and networking opportunities to current and prospective C&PE students by attending events and being positive ambassadors of the Department and University.
   
• Provide feedback to the Department Chair by conducting annual student interviews.
   
• Provide financial support to the Department and guidance about private and corporate fundraising opportunities.
   
• Provide guidance on the recruitment and placement of KU C&PE graduates.
   
• Provide feedback to the Faculty on matters related to ABET accreditation.
   
• Provide recommendations and input to the School of Engineering Dean as appropriate.

Standing Subcommittees 
Each subcommittee is led by a chair, who may select additional committee members from within the Advisory Board. There are three standing subcommittees. 

Membership Subcommittee. The Membership Subcommittee will strive to obtain a proper balance of membership on the Advisory Board to ensure a diversity of representation from industry, academia, geographic location, gender, and age. In addition, the subcommittee will proactively recruit new board members through interaction with the C&PE Department and industry representatives. The subcommittee is responsible for interactions with new members to ensure they are properly reviewed, introduced, and assimilated into the Advisory Board. 

Hall of Fame Subcommittee. The Hall of Fame Subcommittee coordinates the process required to honor graduates of the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering programs at KU who have made noteworthy contributions to their fields. The subcommittee will solicit and evaluate nominations from the Advisory Board and from the department faculty, assess nominee qualifications, present successful nominees to the faculty for approval, contact the awardees, and coordinate the award presentation. 

Student Exit Interview Subcommittee. The Student Exit Interview Subcommittee facilitates the process in which students are interviewed either individually or in a group to gain a better understanding of their experience at KU. The goal is to ensure that the student’s educational experience is evaluated and considered as part of the overall C&PE Department’s performance to continuously improve the quality of education provided to our students. Advisory Board members conduct these interviews to obtain candid feedback from students. The Advisory Board will be presented with an appropriate summary with the major issues identified during the interviews.

Advisory Board Meetings 
The Advisory Board will meet twice a year at KU’s Lawrence Campus. The Department Chair and the Advisory Board Chair will organize and structure the meeting time, place, and agenda, with one meeting in the fall and one meeting in the spring.  The spring meeting should be coordinated in conjunction with the C&PE Department end-of-the-year banquet. At each meeting, the Advisory Board encourages interaction with C&PE students through luncheons/mixers and through student presentations to the Advisory Board.  Advisory Board members are expected to actively participate in each meeting, with a minimum attendance of 50% of the meetings during their term.