This is the first in a series of opinion pieces from leaders around campus on the role that Michigan Tech innovators will play to define the world’s emerging needs.
Since 1885, Michigan Technological University has done precisely what our founding charter called on us to do: educate and train a highly skilled workforce prepared to serve the state’s industry needs. In the late 1800s, this meant training mining engineers to streamline and operate the prosperous copper mines of the Upper Peninsula. In the 20th century, Tech alums helped crystallize Michigan’s global reputation as the epicenter of quality automotive manufacturing. Today, through pioneering efforts like the state’s first College of Computing and our new Essential Education curriculum, the University continues to serve the state of Michigan by helping address the complex technological, economic and social issues of the 21st century.
Times change. The University evolves. By being both agile and relentless in our pursuit of excellence, we’ve carved out a niche in the upper echelon of higher education while remaining true to who we’ve always been. Now, after nearly 140 years of staying the course, Michigan Tech is starting to set the pace — and the higher ed community is following our lead.
In a Chronicle of Higher Education article outlining changes in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Michigan Tech was identified as an institution scheduled to move from R2 to R1 when the new criteria are released in 2025. R1 classification represents the highest level of research productivity for an institute of higher learning. We did not chase this designation by changing who we are or what we do; rather, we did as we’ve always done, and the market adjusted to us. Our unique expertise will complement that of Michigan’s three other R1 universities, adding to the culture of innovation that exists throughout Michigan’s public university system and making the state stronger than ever.
By being both agile and relentless in our pursuit of excellence, we’ve carved out a niche in the upper echelon of higher education while remaining true to who we’ve always been.
For decades, Michigan Tech has steadily built research strength here at home at powerhouse research centers like the Advanced Power Systems Research Center, the Keweenaw Research Center, and the Great Lakes Research Center. In April, we cut the ribbon on our new H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex, which serves as home to our Health Research Institute, whose research activity has increased fivefold since its inception in 2019. Downstate, the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor, begun in 2006, now supports over 100 employees conducting world-class research in fields from machine learning and artificial intelligence to remote sensing and automotive autonomy. Michigan Tech also recently secured space in Grand Rapids to house the Translational Health Engineering Research Center, a collaboration with Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine that will move health science from the laboratory into the world. And just last week, we announced an agreement to become the new engineering services provider for the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is our latest endeavor to further the reach and extend the positive impact of Michigan Tech throughout the state.
With our current Tech Forward efforts coming to a close, with new academic leadership in place across campus, and with the University’s projected R1 status, we have reached an important inflection point. The time has come to move beyond merely showing the world why tomorrow needs Michigan Tech. As leaders in research and education, we must answer the call to define tomorrow’s needs.
To this end, over the next few months I will be asking leaders from across campus to provide us with thought pieces answering two important questions: In 2035, what will society’s most pressing questions be? And what are Michigan Tech’s best opportunities for answering those questions?
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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