US University to designate optics program as college
Orlando, FL, May 25, 2004----The University of Central Florida this month became the first major U.S. university to designate its optics and photonics program as a freestanding college.
The College of Optics and Photonics, which has 36 teaching and research professors and about 150 graduate students, also houses the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) and the Florida Photonics Center for Excellence (FPCE).
Under the new structure, undergraduate degrees in optics could be offered within the next several years, said Eric Van Stryland, who was promoted to dean of the college. He had been director of the School of Optics.
Van Stryland said the college designation will make it easier for optics faculty to work closely with professors from other colleges at UCF. He also said the new structure should help with faculty and student recruiting.
"It will be regarded nationally as a step up," Van Stryland said. "That's a rather distinctive honor, and it's recognition by our administration of our worth to the university."
Van Stryland is vice president of the Optical Society of America (OSA; Washington, DC) and will be the society's president in 2006.
"The University of Central Florida and CREOL have always played a pivotal role in the education, research, and development that propel the fields of optics and photonics forward," said Elizabeth A. Rogan, executive director of the OSA. "The added distinction of being recognized as a college, an entity unto itself, further establishes the school's significant role within the community. We are looking forward to the future innovations UCF's College of Optics is certain to bring."