2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Change can be hard in any organization, and academic departments are no different. Over time, these bodies develop unique cultures and modes of operation that shape all aspects of teaching, research, and service. In 2025, [Institution Name Redacted] underwent an institution-wide department reorganization designed to leverage efficiencies, unleash synergies, and accelerate preeminence. One result of that reorganization was the merger of two ABET accredited undergraduate engineering programs, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, into one new department. These programs had existed previously in separate departments for 36 years with different leadership, policies, procedures, and philosophies; therefore, their combination into one new, unified department presented both challenges and opportunities. The objective of this work is to provide lessons learned during this merger, which may be particularly relevant and useful to other institutions undergoing similar reorganization and transformation efforts. We consider various models for successfully leading change, and assess the applicability of these models to academia based on our own lessons learned. Findings reveal that establishing a clear organizational vision and mission to guide functional working groups with the broadest possible faculty involvement had a significant positive impact in effecting change. In addition, setting the conditions at the beginning for open-mindedness to compromise and change was critical. One of the most effective lines of effort was establishing and communicating a strong new departmental identity through symbols, ceremonies, workshops, and other means. Finally, major challenges of the reorganization revolved around resourcing, to include personnel and facilities. Comparison of these lessons learned to existing models for organizational change reveals that the models are useful with some modifications.