Former associate dean of engineering and faculty in agricultural and biological engineering Howard L. Wakeland died Aug. 9, at the age of 96.
Howard earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the U. of I., later joining the faculty as an instructor in 1951. He was appointed as assistant dean in the College of Engineering and assistant professor of agricultural engineering in 1954. Wakeland became associate dean and full professor in 1967. He served U. of I. for 52 years and oversaw the graduation of 35,484 students during his tenure.
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Howard worked to make engineering education more inclusive. The Minority Engineering Program was one example of Wakeland’s successes. The program began in 1968 when he met with a group of Black engineering students and responded to their concerns. By 1973, his efforts earned him an invitation to Washington, D.C., to be involved in national engineering education programs for underrepresented students.
Another of Howard’s achievements was his leadership in the creation and development of the Engineering Alliance for Global Education, a coalition of fifteen engineering schools that sponsor students to work in Japanese industry and take part in intensive language lessons following graduation.
Howard also contributed to engineering exchange programs in European countries and with Asian, South American, Pacific Rim, and Australian institutions.
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