Badri Roysam, University of Houston

Dear ECEDHA Members, Industry Partners, and Colleagues,

In this issue of the ECE Source, Steven Hietpas and Jeff Yergler reflect on a topic that is especially timely - the challenges faced by some mid-career faculty due to changing performance expectations. We are also pleased to welcome corporate member Jim Keady, who discusses new options for equipping student laboratories.

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Steven Hietpas, South Dakota State University

Welcome to the March issue of the ECE Source.  It is often at this point in the academic year that department chairs are wrapping up annual evaluations, proposing salary enhancement schedules to their deans (assuming the university is positioned to offer salary enhancement), completing department policy and standards documents, establishing O&E budgets for the coming year, and the list goes on. These can be stressful times for everyone, which is why I always look forward to the ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo in March!

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Jeffrey D. Yergler, Golden Gate University

Addressing Professional and Personal Disruption Caused by Changing Standards

As a department chair and a leadership and management consultant working with both the private and public sector, I have a bird's eye view of many of the issues that impact the morale and engagement of employees. What I see more often than not are low levels of morale and engagement in many of the organizations for whom I consult. The low morale tends to be a result of other factors at work between the employee, the organization, and the manager (or in an academic setting, the department head or chair).

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Steven Hietpas, South Dakota State University

Mid-Career Faculty Morale in Times of Change

I have served as the department head for the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at SDSU since 2010, and have had the privilege of working with 20-25 academics, in two distinct disciplines ("cultures"), where a majority are either tenured or on tenure-track. SDSU, not unlike many universities, periodically revise their faculty handbook and/or department standards document for promotion and tenure.  It is a rare case, indeed, that the standards for excellence are lowered. In 2013, SDSU published its new department standards documents.

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Jim Keady, Continental Resources

Mouser Electronics Gives Educators a Free, Web-Based Solution to Inventory Management Problems

The Inventory Management by Mouser is a user-friendly platform that offers university faculty and staff a straightforward way to efficiently monitor and manage inventory without purchasing expensive software. It's completely free and features a new companion mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

Mouser developed its new online inventory management platform and smartphone app specifically as a time- and money-saving solution for higher education.

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Nicolas H. Younan, Mississippi State University