First-Hand:History of an ASEE Fellow - Steve Cheshier
History of an ASEE Fellow
Stephen R. Cheshier
As of June, 2018
Birthplace: Logan, Ohio
Birthdate: February 21, 1940
Family
My mother’s family were from Scotland and Germany; My father’s family were from England. I married Katherine “Joyce” Hadley Cheshier on June 5, 1960. We have two sons, David (1961) and John (1963). David is a professor/administrator at Georgia State University and John is a Regional Sales Manager for a national equipment company. We have two granddaughters, both in college (one majoring in engineering).
Education
B.S. (cum laude) in physics from Memphis State University (now University of Memphis), M.S.E. in electrical engineering from Purdue University, Ph.D. in engineering/technical education and administration from University of Illinois.
Employment
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1958 and spent 12 years on active duty in naval aviation. I completed many service schools and taught in both AT”A” and AT”B” schools. Flew as a flight tech, in both carrier (U.S.S. Wasp) and land-based P2-V and P-3 squadrons.
As a first-generation college student, I took courses at several universities and graduated from Memphis State while on shore (instructor) duty. I also completed courses at Capital Radio Engineering Institute and Cleveland Institute of Electronics, acquiring a first-class FCC License with a Radar Endorsement. While in the navy, I rose through the rates as an Aviation Electronics Technician, becoming a Chief Petty Officer (E-7), and squadron maintenance chief.
After the Navy, I completed engineering graduate school and became an Instructor in the Electrical Engineering Technology Department at Purdue, rising to tenured full professor (in 6 years) and EET Department Head. I served 17 years as the first President of Southern Polytechnic State University (now Kennesaw State University, Marietta Campus). After retirement from SPSU as President Emeritus, I served from 1998 to date as Executive Director of the Cobb Education Consortium (a collaborative of colleges, universities, city and county school systems in Cobb County, GA, representing tens of thousands of students and thousands of faculty and staff).
Research and Scholarship
I have published over 50 scholarly papers (including a “Best Paper of the Conference” Award), having also been a speaker at some 60 national and regional conferences. I was on the editorial board for two professional journals and editorially reviewed dozens of textbook manuscripts from various publishers. I wrote a book on Studying Engineering Technology.
Philosophy of Engineering Education
Having begun as an engineering technician, my interests were always in the applied part of the engineering spectrum. I was a much better engineering student having had a lot of practical experience prior to graduate school. Most of my professional teaching and administrative experience were in engineering technology programs. I believe that laboratory-based design and development experiences should be a critical part of any engineering or engineering technology program. In those early years, I was a strong advocate for re-defining baccalaureate engineering technology programs as “Applied Engineering” or similar. Industry back then, as well as today, had no real understanding of the engineering technologist, almost always employing them as “engineer” with some applied modifier. That situation doesn’t seem to have been clarified much over all of these many years.
ASEE Activities
As a Life Member and Fellow of ASEE, I have been involved in most ET functions (ETC Chair, many ETD roles, nominee for ASEE President, ASEE member of several national studies, etc.). I was honored to receive one of the ASEE Centennial Medals at the 100th ASEE Anniversary. I was awarded the national James H. McGraw Award in 1984. Along with several others, I was a founder of the ETLI and co-hosted the first conference at Purdue in the 1970s. Having been involved in engineering technician and engineering technology programs since 1962, I had the privilege of working with (or knowing) many of the “pioneers” of ET education. They are too numerous to name but were certainly role models for me.
Other Professional Activities
I was active in the I.E.E.E. as a Senior Member and program evaluator. I served the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology – ABET as an evaluator/chair of several dozen programs and as an ABET Fellow. I was awarded the first-ever Tau Alpha Pi National Distinguished Service Award as well as the James G. Dwyer Outstanding Teaching Award at Purdue, and five other local teaching awards.
While in several universities, I became a member of seven national academic honor societies, including those in all of my academic disciplines and the Order of the Engineer. I consulted for many years at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, as well as 8-10 programs planning for TAC-ABET accreditation, and in several evening adult education programs.
As SPSU President, I served on many boards, committees, task-forces, and partnerships, both locally and statewide.
I have been a lifelong Sunday School teacher, deacon, education minister and elder in my churches the various places we have lived.
My wife and I have always enjoyed traveling extensively, and in ‘semi-retirement” we plan, organize and host 3-4 national and international tours for community friends and colleagues each year. Over the years, we have visited some 90 countries on every continent except Antarctica (we did get as close as Cape Horn).
