3M’s George Buckley will be on hand as the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering celebrates its 25th anniversary Tuesday, April 24. He will deliver a keynote address focusing on innovation and collaboration at a gathering that will honor the school’s more than 3,500 software and engineering alumni.
George Buckley
A St. Thomas trustee, Buckley serves as executive chairman of 3M’s board of directors. Prior to his current role, he served as 3M’s board chairman, president and chief executive officer for six years. Before joining 3M, he was board chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Brunswick Corporation. He also held various leadership roles at Emerson Electric Co.
In 1986, the first graduate programs in engineering were launched at St. Thomas to serve the needs of industry by producing work-ready engineers with the potential to lead sustainably competitive organizations. According to Dr. Ron Bennett, School of Engineering founding dean, “We wanted to prepare students to become engineers who could also communicate, something that industry leaders indicated was lacking at the time. St. Thomas’ liberal arts approach was a good fit for this type of program.” Undergraduate engineering programs were introduced in 1994.
Today, there are nearly 500 St. Thomas undergraduates studying electrical and mechanical engineering, and one in 10 freshmen now enroll in engineering. In addition, there are 600 graduate students in engineering, software and technology management masters programs, representing more than 170 companies. The school is also gaining prominence nationally; a recent poll of engineering deans ranked the School of Engineering 51 of 193 schools that offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
A reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in the James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall of the Anderson Student Center on the university’s St. Paul campus. Buckley will present the keynote address at 7 p.m. during a program highlighting select department programs and honoring achievements from the past 25 years.
Prior to the evening reception, the school will host an open house for alumni and guests to explore the engineering facilities and programs and get a glimpse of the educational life of current St. Tomas engineering students.
For more information or to register, visit the School of Engineering 25th anniversary celebration website.
