OSU student council group wins national award
Friday, April 18, 2008
The OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology student council was named
Best Council during the National Association of Engineering Student Councils National
Conference last weekend in Chicago. Consisting of just over 80 members, the CEAT student
council won the award for the country's most outstanding engineering student council
in competition with much larger institutions such as Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and
Purdue. Pictured are 2007-08 executive team members (from left) Rusty Wallace, David
Eyster, Ashley Butterworth, Cortney Timmons, Grant McCool and Justin Roberts.
Administered by the non-profit organization consisting of councils from ABET accredited institutions throughout the United States, the award honoring the country’s most outstanding engineering student council was presented at the NAESC National Conference in Chicago.
The council was recognized for its coordination of programs and activities in support of CEAT students, as well as its outreach, recruitment, leadership development, philanthropic and community service activities.
“This is a fitting recognition of the invaluable leadership and service our student council provides the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Oklahoma State University and the community,” said Karl Reid, CEAT dean. “Like our peers, this college is actively exploring effective ways to recruit and retain students and address the critical shortage of professionals in engineering and technology related fields.”
“The student council plays a vital role in retention by supporting enrichment and organizational activities that enhance the educational experience of all CEAT students,” he said. “Council members also serve as some of our best and most visible ambassadors in outreach, recruitment and alumni relations.”
Reid continued, “The faculty, staff and I greatly appreciate the dedication shown by CEAT student council members over the years. NAESC’s Best Council award affirms our belief that this college is home to the most outstanding student leaders found anywhere in the country.”
Each year the council coordinates the CEAT Career Fair, OSU’s only career fair that is planned, organized and ran entirely by students. The event serves as the council’s primary fundraiser and has doubled in size since 2004. This past fall, a record 174 employers were on hand in Gallagher-Iba Arena to recruit students for full-time jobs and internships.
“We actually had to cap the career fair at 174 and turned away upwards of 20 other companies,” said Cortney Timmons, CEAT student council president and a biosystems and agricultural engineering junior. “Last year, we had 143 companies, but it seems as if we set a new record every year.”
Proceeds from the fair are administered by the council to CEAT clubs and student organizations. Members of OSU’s award-winning student chapters of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers can obtain travel and registration assistance to attend regional and national conferences. Also CEAT teams in the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Mini Baja and Formula Race Car competitions, American Society of Civil Engineers’ Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions, and dozens of others can apply for funding support.
“CEAT student organizations and competition teams interview before a board that allocates funds raised from the career fair,” said Grant McCool, vice president of finance and a chemical engineering senior. “It’s been the council’s goal to increase the amount we administer to the clubs and organizations, and this year we raised and allocated more funds than were provided from left over student fees through the Activity Fee Allocation Process.”
CEAT student council also presents CEAT Week. The annual campus event includes a sports night, golf tournament, cookouts and friendly competitions between departments, but it is more than an opportunity for students to relax and socialize ahead of spring midterms.
“We try to have some fun and get out of the normal, everyday routine of being CEAT students, but we also make it educational by bringing in guest speakers and lecturers,” Timmons said. “It’s also a recruitment opportunity, and our freshman council puts on Junior Day, where high school juniors from Oklahoma come in for a one-day preview of the college.”
“Our No. 1 goal with CEAT Week is philanthropy, and this year we raised $5,000 for OU Children’s Hospital with a date auction, golf tournament and donations from corporate sponsors,” Timmons said. “Justin Roberts, our vice president of publications, had a great idea to organize a car show, and by extending CEAT Week just one day, we brought in around 80 cars and raised over $1,600.”
The report executive team members submitted for consideration for the Best Council award also detailed the council’s leadership of the CEAT freshman council, its participation in university-wide public service activities, such as “Into the Streets” and “The Big Event,” and the CEAT’s recognition as “Most Spirited College” during OSU’s 2007 Homecoming.
Such initiatives, and others the council is pursuing, including a scholarship endowment and a CEAT Heritage Hall, have made members highly regarded among their peers at NAESC events.
“For the past four years, CEAT student council has won both our regional and the national NAESC Most Active Council awards for the council with largest presence on its campus,” Timmons said. “We’ve seen the respect for Oklahoma State University’s CEAT student council grow and build up to this. Other schools tell us they respect OSU’s professionalism, and they always want to talk with us about how we organize activities and events.”
McCool added, “With about 60 at-large members and 20 club representatives, we’re a small- to medium-sized organization, but most schools don’t have a career fair like we do.”
“And even the ones that do and are much bigger than we are, like Texas A&M that has a fair with 300-plus employers, ask how we handle our finances because they want to better coordinate theirs,” he said.
Timmons and McCool attributed the council’s success to support from CEAT administration and faculty and, specifically, the dedication of members.
“When we need to have signups for events or CEAT Week, we just put a paper out there, and they all come forward and sign up. I’ve never seen a time when we had to ask people to sign up for something,”
McCool said.
Timmons added, “It’s really interesting to me because a lot of the other successful student councils – Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Purdue, the University of Illinois – have really large groups and executive committees.
“We’re a mid-sized council in terms of the schools we’re up against, but we’re a very compact, and efficient, council.”