Source: Chwen Sheu, 785-532-4363, csheu@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Corbin H. Crable, 785-532-6415

Thursday, September 11, 2003

K-STATE PROFESSOR GAINS EXPERIENCE WITH BOEING FELLOWSHIP

MANHATTAN -- Chwen Sheu, professor of management at Kansas State University, gained experience this summer of which others can only dream.

Sheu recently returned from his work in the Boeing Welliver Summer Fellowship, an eight-week stint that gave him an in-depth look at the supply chain operations of Boeing, including training engineers at C-17 facilities, interviewing manufacturing managers with the company, attending several meetings with Boeing's executive supply chain management team and completing management-related projects. The fellowship, which took Sheu to the Division of Integrated Defense Systems in Long Beach, Calif., is designed to give university faculty the chance to work with Boeing managers and thus improve their teaching.

Sheu said an opportunity like working at Boeing is so rare that only nine faculty members out of 45 applicants nationwide were selected for the honor. He said he was surprised to be awarded the chance.

"I screamed, seriously," Sheu said. "It's a very competitive (application) process. I didn't feel strongly that I would be selected, and I was very happy that K-State was there. It's a very rewarding experience."

The application process for the fellowship is an extensive one, Sheu said. Applicants must fill out an application; submit a statement of professional objectives in their teaching and research, their personal vision for undergraduate education and what they expect to learn from the Boeing experience; and gather letters of recommendation from two students, the head of the applicant's department, the dean of the applicant's college and a colleague. A committee at Boeing then reviews the applications and notifies the recipients within a couple of months.

Sheu, who worked specifically in Boeing's Air Force Systems, said his experience with the fellowship will help enhance both his actual course content and the way he teaches his classes. He said his time at the fellowship will give him needed experience upon which to draw and better organize his content, and help him make the contents easier for his students to grasp by using examples of his experiences.

"Both content and delivery have to be there," he said. "It gives me stories I can share with my students. I need to have good content so students will learn, but that's not enough. I have to be able to deliver it, or the students won't learn anything. Because of this experience, I have many examples I can share with my students. These examples can support the theories in my course material."

Sheu said he hopes to return to Boeing next summer to continue the fellowship. He already presented the company with a plan of action on how he will use or has used his experiences with Boeing in teaching and research. Sheu also said he has encouraged Boeing management to visit the K-State campus to recruit interested students.

Sheu said he encourages other interested faculty members to apply for the fellowship, as it can only enhance their teaching methods.

"If they are sincere with their teaching or research, it's a win-win-win situation," Sheu said. "It's a win for faculty, it's a win for students and it's a win for the company. You're not just doing this for yourself. You're doing it for the company, the students and the university."

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