NSPE in Action: Engineering the Future of the PE
2015 NSPE Talking Points/Leader Presentation
Why are we here?
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What brought you to this meeting today? The future of engineering? Your future as an engineer? Why
do you care about NSPE? Personal and career advancement? Make a difference in the profession?
Changing the world? Compliance/Enforcement?
Why NSPE (then) – from David Steinman in 1934
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Protect engineers (and the public) from unqualified practitioners,
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Build public recognition for the profession, and
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Stand against unethical practices and inadequate compensation.
NSPE is NOT Just Another Organization
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“The technical problems of civil, mechanical, electrical, mining, and chemical engineers are divergent;
but the professional problems are alike. The technical societies, for the best fulfillment of their essential
purpose, are divided on lines of differentiation of technical branches or specialties. This division into
separate organizations, with diverse traditions and viewpoints, prevents effective united effort for the
interests of the profession as a whole. A single national professional society, with solidarity of purpose
and concentration of strength, is needed to provide effectively for the professional interests of the
engineering profession.” David Steinman (1935)
We’re All in This Together
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Whenever I say NSPE this morning (afternoon), please understand I do NOT mean just national or just
a state society or some division of labor between them.
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I am talking about NSPE as an integrated single system of national, regional, state and local elements,
working autonomously but in concert.
But I’m too busy for all of this…
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Today’s association can’t skate by on yesterday’s accomplishments, operating at yesterday’s speed, or
using yesterday’s technology processes and procedures.
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We need to prove our relevance every day, concentrate on what you need, deliver real value, and offer
multiple forms of engagement and participation.
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Every association, not just engineering societies face this challenge. And addressing them effectively
was the focus of a book called …RACE FOR RELEVANCE.
Race for Relevance – Rigorously Define the Member Market
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NSPE will accomplish its mission by remaining focused on the licensed professional engineer and
those who aspire to become licensed.
Race for Relevance -- Rationalize Programs, Services, and Activities
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NSPE will accomplish its mission through a disciplined, fiscally responsible and data-driven process of
building on strengths and concentrating resources on those activities:
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That will make a significant difference for NSPE’s members;
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That NSPE has the unique capacity (or potential) to do better than anyone else; and
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That members cannot do for themselves or get without being a member.
Race for Relevance -- Overhaul the Governance and Committee Model
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NSPE will accomplish its mission by engaging in the disciplined and constant exercise of strategic
thinking at the House of Delegates, Board of Directors, Committee, Council, Task Force, and staff
levels as well as streamlining processes and procedures to facilitate effective, action-oriented
governance.
Where did all this come from?
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It came from you – our members!
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NSPE‘s Race for Relevance started more than three years ago, and hasn’t ended.
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It involved extensive surveying of members, former members, and non-members.
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Seven task forces, populated by more than 90 members from 41 states; over 3,000 hours of volunteer
work effort, constant communication (in person, online) and feedback.
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NSPE’s “Who We Are and What We Do” webpage - http://www.nspe.org/membership/nspe-who-weare-and-what-we-do
A New Vision for NSPE
What does it mean to be a licensed professional engineer and an NSPE member? Can you summarize it in
a two-minute (or less) elevator speech? PEs often find these questions challenging, perhaps because of
the wide variety of engineering disciplines, perhaps because there’s so much to say about the profession.
Two minutes? No way.
But in the spring of 2015, NSPE members were asked for their opinions about just such an elevator
speech, and the response was overwhelming approval.
For effective advocacy and marketing, it is important to be able to succinctly state, ‘This is the purpose
NSPE exists to serve,’ but this is about more than mere marketing language or spin.
This statement of principles is the outcome of NSPE’s ongoing Race for Relevance, and will drive your
Society’s priorities and investment of resources, not just how we talk about them.
Informed by several years of surveys, study, and feedback from members on what they value and need
from NSPE, it is an organizational commitment, aligned with the timeless principles upon which NSPE was
first created, restated for the 21st century.
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Being a licensed professional engineer means more than just holding a certificate and possessing
technical competence.
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It is a commitment to hold the public health, safety, and welfare above all other considerations.
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NSPE is the only society focusing exclusively on this core principle, which professional
engineers in all disciplines and practice areas hold in common.
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NSPE is an integrated network of organizations, operating at the national, regional, state, and local
levels, with a more than 80-year history of achievement.
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By defining, promoting, and protecting the PE license, we improve the lives of both the public and the
PEs that serve it.
DEFINE the PE license as the highest measure of professionalism and qualification to protect the
public health, safety, and welfare. (NSPE’s latest activities toward this effort)
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Following through on discussions by the House of Delegates and the Board on attacking a specific
“grand challenge” to demonstrate NSPE’s commitment to ethical innovation and technology, NSPE staff
is reaching out for volunteers to serve as subject matter experts to tackle issue of artificial intelligence
and autonomous vehicles. If interested, please contact governmentrelations@nspe.org.
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When a recruitment ad featuring a female engineer spurred negative feedback, it inspired a social
media campaign to combat stereotypes about who can be an engineer called the
#ILookLikeAnEngineer campaign. NSPE joined the conversation and tweeted a call out to women and
diverse PEs to tweet about themselves using the hashtag with positive results. NSPE member Kathleen
Hunter, P.E., an electrical engineer, recently wrote a blog post for NSPE on why she participated. You
can access it under “Blogs” on the NSPE homepage.
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NSPE recently launched its new “PE Legislator” page, which showcases PEs who became legislators
and their experiences in doing so. The page also allows members to gain insights into how they can
advocate for the profession.
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Planning has already begun for the joint NSPE/TSPE 2016 annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, June 2226. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend – this is going to be an event you won’t want to
miss.
PROMOTE awareness and recognition of the value and meaning of the PE license. (NSPE’s latest
activities toward this effort)
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Applications for the New Faces Professional and New Faces College Edition recognition programs
through DiscoverE and NSPE are now live. Professional edition celebrates engineers 30 and younger,
while College Edition honors 3rd, 4th, or 5th year engineering students. Details and applications are at
www.discovere.org. Deadline is November 20th.
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NSPE conducted two recent reader surveys that show high satisfaction with both PE magazine and the
Daily Designs news briefing. A couple highlights:
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73% of readers have taken action as a result of an article or column they read in PE over the
last 12 months and print-only (versus digital-only) subscribers were 62% more likely to have
read three of last four issues.
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77% of readers are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Daily Designs and 97% of readers find the
selection of news items relevant to PEs.
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Applications for the Federal Engineer of the Year (FEYA), recognizing engineers employed by a federal
agency, are now available so please get the word out. The deadline is October 31st. The winners will be
honored at a luncheon at the National Press Club on February 26, 2016.
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NSPE’s website recently went through a “refresh” to give it a cleaner look and provide a way to
highlight important content on the homepage. Please take a look if you haven’t been there lately!
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It’s not too soon to begin planning for the next National Engineers Week (February 21-27, 2016)!
DiscoverE has new resources available at www.discovere.org.
PROTECT the integrity of the profession and the welfare of the public by vigorously:
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Opposing the practice of engineering by unqualified persons; and
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Advocating the highest standards of licensure, ethics, and professional practice.
(NSPE’s latest activities toward this effort)
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At a recent joint hearing of two U.S. House committees, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified
about the role of the EPA in the August 5 Gold King Mine blowout that resulted in a three-million gallon
toxic spill into the Animas and San Juan rivers. Rep. Bruce Westerman, P.E., (R-AR), an NSPE
member, asked McCarthy why a licensed professional engineer was not in responsible charge of the
EPA’s project at Gold King Mine, as required under Colorado statute. NSPE is working very closely on
this issue with Westerman and his office, as well as several congressional committees.
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UPDATE: On September 21, Rep. Bruce Westerman, P.E. (R-AR), an NSPE member, filed an
official complaint with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions
and Occupations, regarding the August 5, 2015, Gold King Mine disaster.
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An effort by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations to address climate change and
infrastructure resiliency could create negative consequences for professional engineers. NSPE has
sent a letter urging the American Association of Engineering Societies’ representative to the WFEO to
recommend that the document be modified to address the provisions that will expose professional
engineers to potential increased claims and litigation.
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On August 20, as the result of extensive advocacy efforts by the Indiana Society of Professional
Engineers and NSPE, the Indiana Job Creation Commission rescinded its troubling recommendation to
eliminate state licensure of engineering. This is an important victory but also an absolutely critical
reminder to all states to remain vigilant against efforts to compromise or eliminate professional
engineering licensure.
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On August 21, following a disciplined and coordinated campaign by NSPE and its state societies,
engineering registration boards across the nation voted to reject a proposal to add a separate license
for structural engineers to the NCEES Model Law.
Collaboration (NSPE’s latest activities toward this effort)
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The National Academy of Forensic Engineers seeking technical experts to submit papers on
the application of engineering principles to legal matters, for presentation during the NAFE Winter
Meeting and potential publication in the Journal of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.
Abstracts can be sent to journal@nafe.org. Deadline for abstracts is October 30, 2015.
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Remind state partners they can set up state-specific sections on the NSPE Job Board and participate in
the revenue generating potential of this valuable member service. Interested parties should contact
David Butler, david.butler@boxwoodtech.com.
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NSPE is pursuing a closer and more formal partnership with The Order of the Engineer, to ensure new
engineering graduates and PEs who join the Order are aware of the many resources NSPE provides.
NSPE Vice President Tom Roberts and Executive Director Mark Golden have been invited and will
participate in the Order’s annual Board of Governors meeting in late October.
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NSPE continues to provide state societies with state legislative and regulatory monitoring and tracking
services through MultiState, along with the Voter Voice Legislative Action Center, which can facilitate
states in conducting grassroots lobbying on state issues of concern.
Communicating What’s New
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Social Media: NSPE is active on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Links to all of these
accounts can be found on NSPE’s homepage, www.nspe.org.
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Newsletters:
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Daily Designs
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NSPE Update
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Interest Group Newsletters
PE Magazine: Offers both print and digital editions of the magazine, and also has a dedicated Twitter
account, @PEMag.
Member Engagement
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Describe AMS, value it brings to state societies, but remember: technology is a means to an end. That
end is making your society more accessible, your involvement more valuable, your voice better heard.
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PE Institute
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Social Media
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Committee Service
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Coming soon: even more and better tools for communities to form and exchange information.
Who Serves Me Best? National or State/Territory?
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BOTH! Together!
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For successful accomplishment of a professional society, unity and geographical organization are the
essentials. The National Society, the state societies, and the county chapters are closely and
reciprocally integrated, and all are regarded of equal importance. Membership in one involves
membership in all…This is the logical and essential form of organization for building a united and
integrated engineering profession.” David Steinman (1935)
The Race for Relevance is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
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So we’ve been busy and we have accomplished a lot, but this is a race you never finish. NSPE is
committed to constant improvement.
The Challenge
** Pick one of the three quotes below to include based on your audience and the message you’re trying to
convey:
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“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Abraham Lincoln – June 6, 1858)
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“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” (Benjamin Franklin – July 5,
1776)
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“I have often and often, in the course of the session, and in the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to
its issue, looked at [the half sun carved in the back of Washington’s Chair] without being able to tell
whether it was rising or setting; but now at length, I have the happiness to know, that it is a rising, and
not a setting sun.” (Benjamin Franklin – September 17, 1787)
As a multi-disciplinary, multi-layered organization, NSPE deals with the complexity and challenges that
diversity brings. There are other, more narrowly focused appeals from other organizations competing for
your attention. There is the challenge of reaching consensus with such varied interests, focuses and
concern represented in our membership.
But there is also strength in diversity by bringing that vast breadth of experiences, expertise, and
perspectives to bear by focusing on what we hold in common, not what separates us.
The same kind of challenge and the same kind of strength that led to the founding of our nation:
E pluribus unum … One out of many.
The same kind of challenge and the same kind of strength that enabled the country to survive and emerge
even stronger after a civil war.
This Society…of PEs, by PEs, and for PEs
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NSPE, in partnership with the State/Territorial Societies,
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Serves as the recognized and authoritative expert in licensure, ethics, and professional practice;
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Promotes licensure and assists individuals in becoming licensed; and
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Protects and enhances the value of licensure and the opportunities for the licensed engineer.
We’re all in this together and I have great confidence in our ability to work together and in our shared
resolve and commitment to do what’s best to serve the interest we all share: the value and integrity of the
PE license. That confidence is not wishful thinking. It is based on the evidence I have seen and the
progress we have already made.
That progress is not the result of any individual or state or national, it is a shared accomplishment. We
have the capacity, but more importantly, in every state I visit, I see confirmation that we have the will to
return NSPE (at all levels) to its former greatness, with renewed focus, energy and results, which was, after
all, what the Race for Relevance effort was all about.
There are no quick fixes, but we all each bring unique value to the table and are united in a common
cause.
And we’re approaching a tipping point.
Call for Action
I hope you see how much NSPE is doing and accomplishing on your behalf. But we can’t do it all for you. We
can only do it WITH you.
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If you are not a member: Join
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If you are a member: Engage and share
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Join a committee
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Teach a seminar
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Write an article or blog post
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Write to your members of Congress
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Bring a student, an EIT, a newly/long-time licensed engineer with you
Thank you!
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More info at www.nspe.org