USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering at the University of San Diego (USD) is commemorating its 10th anniversary this year. To celebrate, the school is hosting a party for the USD community on March 28th from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. 

Darlene Marcos Shiley, whose generous gift helped to launch the engineering school, USD President James T. Harris III and Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering founding Dean Chell Roberts will be a part of the celebration and cake cutting ceremony. At the event, students can test drive a drone, check out the school’s robots and see their 3D printers in action. 

“It is an extreme honor to serve as the founding dean of USD's Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering since 2013. We believe in an engineering education that develops the ability in our students to understand the broad impact of the things they design and the problems they solve. They will seek to balance their ideas with dialogue and thought regarding who is affected, who is empowered, who is marginalized and how the environment is impacted, alongside more in-depth analysis into technical viability and economic impact. This ability is a foundational element of leadership and what we call Changemaking Engineers,” said Chell Roberts.

Here’s a glance at the accomplishments and history of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering over the last decade:

• The engineering program was founded in 1987 but was established as a school in 2013. 
• The engineering school launched with 16 full-time faculty members and roughly 200 undergraduates. Today, the engineering school has more than 800 undergraduate and graduate students and 40 full-time, tenure-track professors. 
• Over 40% of full-time, tenure-track faculty members are women. 
• The Engineering Exchange for Social Justice (ExSJ) program began in 2019 to give students a chance to provide engineer-based solutions to problems the community is facing. One project worked with the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve to help Tijuana residents with waste reduction by teaching residents how to upcycle waste. 
• Diversity, inclusion and social justice is a part of the curriculum at USD and engineering students take courses like engineering and social justice, allowing students to research a local community's needs using engineering practices. 
• Notable alumni: NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick ’05 (BS/BA), Curtis Chambers ’19 (BS/BA), USD Board of Trustee member and one of the first seven members of the Uber start up team, Joshua Williams ’16 (BS/BA), founder of Young Echelon, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “empower the next generation of Black leaders” and Baxter Box '06 (EE), founder of shopping app, LTK.
• After graduation, students have gone on to work in industries like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, technology and engineering. Last year's graduating students started careers with Microsoft, Dell, Honeywell, Primo Energy, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, International Space Station, to name a few.

“Life is about building blocks and engineers bring these blocks to life: from the size and strength of buildings and bridges to the smallest medical devices like heart valves. As we enter the 10th anniversary year of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, I remember that the University of San Diego had a well-functioning engineering department but we needed more. To further that field of study and to honor the accomplishments of my late husband, Donald Shiley, a biomedical engineer himself, I agreed we needed a School of Engineering — to show we valued this education. Today, I’m proud to see the growth of the school and to witness the many students who have gone on to make an impact in their communities using an engineering education,” said Darlene Marcos Shiley. 

“As a Changemaker institution, the University of San Diego is on a perpetual mission to provide our students with the skills they need to create positive change in their community. Therefore, students in the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering aren't just engineers who are creating inventions for the sake of inventing. They're Changemaker Engineers who are fueled to create innovations that make a difference to the world and confront humanity's urgent challenges. Over the last decade, this mindset has played a significant role in how we at USD live out our mission — through endeavors like the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice program, which helps the community with problems they are facing using engineer-based solutions or with “engineering and social justice” courses that inspire students to research a local community’s needs, using engineering practices. Our Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering alumni have gone on to work for NASA or to create nonprofit STEM programs to empower the next generation of Black leaders. With this kind of impact in just a decade, I can't wait to see the kind of impact the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering will have in the next 10 years,” said James T. Harris III.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.