How does a German language professor become the executive director of one of the most successful engineering programs on campus?
John Grandin did it by anticipating the future, and developing a strategy to meet it.
Grandin came to URI in 1970 to teach German, having recently earned his Ph.D. in German literature from the University of Michigan. While he excelled in his career at URI, Grandin found as the years progressed, fewer students were choosing German as a major. He began to consider alternative ways to attract students to the language, and soon realized that working across disciplines with engineering could be beneficial to both programs.
Thus began the International Engineering Program (IEP), an idea borne of backyard discussions between Grandin and his then neighbor, the dean of the College of Engineering, Hermann Viets. Viets had a background in German as well, and was seeking ways to enhance the engineering department and better prepare engineers for the rapidly evolving workplace.
With the pace of globalization quickening, Grandin and Viets envisioned an international engineering program in which students could earn two degrees simultaneously – German and engineering – which would prepare them for the increasingly international marketplace.
“I thought the IEP was a wonderful concept, particularly in the interest of furthering German language study,” says Grandin.
The IEP was clearly an idea whose time had come. When the program officially kicked off in the late 1980s, Grandin and Viets expected 10 to 12 students to enroll in the first semester. More than 40 signed up. “The students responded to the program immediately,” Grandin remembers. “They understood the value of what the IEP offered, in terms of career preparation.”
Grandin has since seen the program grow exponentially. Today, the IEP offers dual degrees in three languages – German, Spanish and French – and its enrollment has increased to nearly 200 students a year. The IEP even has its own center on campus. The IEP House, located on Upper College Road, is both a residence and an administrative facility, housing 40 students along with offices for Grandin and his staff.
Not content with the phenomenal success he’s already achieved, Grandin is currently working on expanding the IEP to include a dual master’s degree program. In the German master’s degree IEP, students will spend half their time studying at URI, and the other half at the Technische Universitat Braunschweig in Germany, and receive degrees from both schools.
Grandin exults in his work. “I love my job,” says Grandin. “It has to be the most unusual German professorship in the country.”
For more information about the IEP, visit www.uri.edu/iep.