Message from the Dean

Hi, I’m Sheryl Ehrman, the Don Beall Dean of the Charles Davidson College of Engineering at San José State University (SJSU). Coming up through San José’s public schools, I realized in high school that I loved chemistry, but I was most interested in seeing how knowledge of chemistry could be applied to help people on a large scale, in particular with respect to improving environmental sustainability and health. Prior to choosing chemical engineering as a major, I didn't know a single chemical engineer, but met one in my sophomore year and off I went.

After holding academic positions nationally and globally, I returned to San Jose in 2017 to lead the Davidson College of Engineering at SJSU. As a university sitting in the heart of Silicon Valley, SJSU has played an important part in making this high tech tech region one of the most innovative areas in the world.  We are proudly a regional university with global impact.    

San José State University sends over 1800 engineers into the workforce every year, providing more engineers to Silicon Valley companies than any other university. Our students are creative, resilient and resourceful. They bring their lived experience to our classrooms, labs and project courses. Many students are the first in their families to attend college, many are immigrants, many are self-financing their education, and some are all of the above. The combination of lived experience and experiential learning through our hands-on curriculum is powerful. Our students are well known for their smooth transitions to the workplace and graduate school, and our alumni stand out in their success.

With the growth of our research enterprise, our faculty and students are contributing increasingly to knowledge generation and innovation. Challenges such as climate change and health inequity are best addressed by teams that include those most directly impacted. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are best developed by teams that also include those who would directly benefit  by the use of these technologies. Now, more than ever before,we have the right engineers, at the right place, at the right time.   

Future students, I invite you to learn more about the College of Engineering at SJSU here and alumni, let us know what you’re up to by sharing your news with us here.

Sheryl Ehrman