Thomas F. Schubert Jr., PhD, Receives Emeritus Status

The University of San Diego (USD) is proud to announce that Thomas F. Schubert Jr., PhD, has been granted Emeritus Faculty status, a prestigious honor recognizing his profound impact on the university's engineering programs. This distinction marks the first Professor Emeritus of Engineering award for the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering since it became a standalone school.

As the second engineering faculty member at the University of San Diego, Dr. Schubert arrived in the fall of 1987, one year after USD’s first engineering faculty member, Tom Kanneman, PhD, had established the program — a unique dual BS/BA degree in electrical engineering. 

Dr. Schubert was instrumental in developing the original electrical engineering (EE) curriculum, including its courses and labs. Over the years, the engineering programs grew and Dr. Schubert’s career flourished. He started at USD as an associate professor of electrical engineering and worked his way up to full professor in 1993. 

His dedication to student success was evident during his seven-year tenure as director of engineering programs (1996-2003), where he oversaw a tripling of student enrollment by significantly improving retention rates.

A true pioneer, Schubert was one of two authors of the proposal for a new mechanical engineering program. He also led the critical effort to secure initial ABET accreditation for the industrial and systems engineering (ISyE) program and successfully guided a total of five ABET visits for the EE and ISyE programs.

Beyond the classroom and administrative roles, Dr. Schubert was a passionate advocate for hands-on, experiential learning. His contributions were nationally recognized in 2012 when he received the ASEE Robert G. Quinn Award, a prestigious honor for his "outstanding contributions in providing and promoting excellence in experimentation and laboratory instruction." This commitment to practical education also extended to his role in leading study abroad opportunities for engineering students, creating unique learning experiences in places like Australia and London.

He served on the University Senate for many years to represent the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business Administration and the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, including positions on the executive committee and as vice chair and parliamentarian.

Dr. Schubert's legacy is also cemented in his contributions to course development, including a wide range of subjects from Electronics and Communication Systems to Acoustics of Musical Instruments. His work culminated in a textbook, “Fundamentals of Electronics”, co-authored with professor of electrical engineering, Ernest Kim, PhD, and republished as a four-volume series.

With this new status, Dr. Schubert is celebrated for a career defined by dedication and a commitment to building a robust foundation for engineering education at the University of San Diego. 

We extend our congratulations to Dr. Schubert on his lifetime contributions to engineering and on this prestigious recognition. 

— By Michelle Sztupkay