The University of San Diego's (USD) Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering is embarking on a multi-year project to revolutionize engineering education with the goal of developing "Changemaking" Engineers. The project addresses how an engineering education that integrates traditional technical skills, enhanced social awareness and an integrated professional spine produces connected learning that empowers graduates to improve society - by practicing engineering within the contexts of social justice, peace, humanitarian advancement, and sustainable practices. An incubation model is being developed where new courses in a general engineering program are designed to include rich changemaker context and professional skills. Learning modules from these classes are transferred to the more traditional, disciplinary engineering programs to promote change in those curricula. The project examines the impact of infusing a professional spine and the changemaker engineering canon on student motivation and attitudes by measuring the impact in attracting and retaining a more diverse population of engineering students. The new course materials developed are being published as companion materials for traditional course textbooks. Finally, a national symposium of scholars and commensurate community is being established to promote changemaking engineering.

This work explores how collaborative leadership can revitalize engineering culture to produce a transformative engineering canon. By co-generating a cultural transformation within all departments of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, a faculty learning community is being developed through a model of collaborative leadership and faculty empowerment. The project team includes all of the engineering department chairs, the dean of engineering, and the associate dean, and a faculty member in sociology. In building cultural consensus for the new initiatives in engineering education, an understanding of which mechanisms of leadership/shared-leadership can produce positive or negative responses is being developed. Workshops, faculty support mechanisms and other methods are being used to: 1) advance cultural development, 2) create collaborative abilities and values, and 3) develop a spine of professional competencies. The combined partnerships with industry, the community, and faculty outside of engineering help to promote the vision of creating changemaking engineers prepared to face society's challenges.