Strategic priorities

The strategic priorities will provide a framework for decision-making, help us shape our annual goals, and serve as clear guideposts for our research, education, and operational missions.

We will invest in nine strategic initiatives, selected for their capacity to effectively realize these four strategic priorities.

1. Generate scholarship that transcends engineering disciplines

We will strengthen our pursuit of and investment in research collaborations with internal University and external industry partners to develop solutions for existing and emerging societal challenges. The School’s strengths in environmental solutions, imaging science, biological and biomedical science and intervention, fundamental and translational AI, cyberphysical systems, mechanical, thermal and materials science, and applied physics position McKelvey to be a trusted, innovative collaborator within the University and with industry, governmental, and non-profit organizations.

2. Engage students with experiential and industry-based learning activities

To ensure that our graduates remain competitive in the workforce and our programs remain on the cutting edge of engineering education, McKelvey will augment its curricula to include experiences in the classroom, in the lab, and in the field. As part of this strategic priority, McKelvey commits to ensuring that experiential learning is accessible to all our students, regardless of background or financial means, so that there are equitable, meaningful opportunities for our students to take their learning outside the classroom. This means we will commit resources that enable our students to participate in learning experiences that meet their needs and interests and equip them with aptitudes needed for industry and scholarship.

3. Drive innovation, industrial impact, and entrepreneurship

We will position McKelvey as a source of innovation and an entrepreneurial engine through three main mechanisms:

1. Facilitating the launch of new companies by faculty, students, and alumni;
2. Conducting joint research with internal and external partners that align research with commercial needs that result in the licensing of new technologies; and
3. Developing our students through participation in research and entrepreneurship.

These efforts are important now so that we can impact industry, drive economic growth in the St. Louis ecosystem, foster innovation, create job opportunities that retain alumni in the St. Louis area, and support the core commitments to the St. Louis community outlined in Here and Next. Through technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and joint research collaborations with local entities and companies, McKelvey will expand its own capacity for innovation and expand its footprint in the St. Louis region.

4. Cultivate healthy and inclusive environments for our staff

We will strengthen our culture to be more inclusive and to foster individual career advancement for all McKelvey staff. We will commit ourselves to a continuous process of “engineering McKelvey for our people” through increasingly inclusive operating norms, equitable processes, innovative practices that promote community, and professional development opportunities.