On October 21, President Marie Hardin, Provost Debra Liebowitz, Dean Taskin Kocak, faculty, students and alumni were joined by industry partners, sponsors and esteemed guests to celebrate a decade during which the school has grown tremendously, expanding programs, partnerships and preparing students to succeed and lead in an ever-evolving technological world.

The day’s special guests of honor were Connecticut senior U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Dr. Levente Kovács, rector-president and professor of Óbuda University in Budapest, Hungary. Earlier this year, Quinnipiac and Óbuda established a strategic international partnership to support joint research and a dual-degree graduate program in computer science. On October 21, Kovács presented the school with a commemorative plaque celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Blumenthal presented the school with a special senate recognition celebrating a decade of excellence in education, innovation and technological advancement. He said Quinnipiac is a university on the move.

“It is a great success story in American higher education, and nothing exemplifies it better than this School of Computing & Engine8ering. Observing the graduates and where they’ve gone, the breadth of their endeavor after leaving this school is really breathtaking,” Blumenthal said. “In Connecticut, our main asset is our people — really smart, able, capable, well-trained people; and Quinnipiac is adding to that asset every single day.”

With the exception of the Coast Guard Academy, Quinnipiac now has the highest ranked engineering program in its category in Connecticut, Kocak noted.

“Ten years is an important milestone, and when we look at how far this school has come in such a short period of time, we have a great deal to celebrate. In just one decade, we have built a school that’s increasingly recognized nationally,” Kocak said.

Recognized by U.S. News & World Report among the best colleges for undergraduate engineering programs and computer science programs, Quinnipiac School of Computing & Engineering prepares students to take on the technological, scientific and logistical obstacles of the 21st century. The school’s interdisciplinary approach combines heavy collaboration, hands-on learning and cutting-edge facilities. Boasting a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, since 2019, 100% of program graduates have gone on to employment or enrollment in a graduate school within six months of graduation. Most recently, the Class of 2025 reported a median starting salary of $80,000.

“These results are the product of our outstanding faculty, dedicated staff, hands-on learning, research, internships, industry partnerships and a culture that puts students at the center of everything we do,” Kocak said.

Liebowitz said what’s most important is the education behind the school’s remarkable growth.

“Students have learned by designing, building, testing, and trying again. They learn in labs with top-notch technology, and they work on senior design projects with the most impressive list of companies in the world,” Liebowitz said. “I am most proud of our training students in a way that gives them the opportunity to apply what they’re learning and to build the talent pipeline in the region. There’s also much to celebrate that has come nationally.”

School of Computing & Engineering faculty are tapped to serve in national roles, while student teams have brought home national competitive wins. In 2023, Quinnipiac computer science major Hephzibah Rajan was named National Engineering Intern Student of the Year by the American Society for Engineering Education. In 2025, Quinnipiac University earned its first-ever student-and-faculty U.S. patent due to the innovative work of Chetan Jaiswal, associate professor of computer science, and Brian O'Neill, associate dean and associate professor of computer science, together with School of Health Sciences occupational therapy professor Karen Majeski and School of Computing & Engineering students.

Liebowitz said the collaborative, interdisciplinary effort reflects the promise of the future for the School of Computing & Engineering’s impact across the Quinnipiac’s diverse academic landscape.

“We see that excellence has a really important role in our ability to think about the future and what is possible. The connections between computing, engineering and the other fields that we have here at Quinnipiac is fundamental to the evolution of all of those areas,” Liebowitz said.

Kocak said the growing collaborations across the university are part of an exciting next chapter for the School of Computing & Engineering. He thanked faculty and staff, students and alumni, industry partners, advisory board members, donors and friends for playing a role in the school’s first decade of success. He also gave special thanks to the school’s founding dean, Justin Kile, professor of industrial engineering and industrial engineering program director, for “…helping turn a vision into the thriving school we celebrate today.”

Officially launched in fall 2016, the school traces its roots to civil engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and software engineering courses introduced through the Department of Engineering at the School of Business in 2011. From humble beginnings with just two full-time faculty members and 16 students, the school has grown into a vibrant community recognized for academic excellence. Kile said it was amazing to see what’s been achieved since the school got its start.

“You can see it all around, in the great accomplishments of our faculty and staff, and most importantly, in what our students have achieved,” Kile said. “Our alumni are now out there across the country, doing great things in so many different disciplines. To me, that’s the benchmark that our students have succeeded. That’s why we started this – to give students the opportunity to have a great Quinnipiac education and go on to do wonderful things. It’s been rewarding to build something that’s thriving.”

Mechanical engineering alumna Elizabeth Conlon ’19, a quality engineering manager at Collins Aerospace in the New York City metropolitan area, said she values what she gained from her School of Computing & Engineering experience.

“I’m so proud to be a graduate of Quinnipiac. Whenever I talk about what brought me to where I am in my career, I talk about Quinnipiac. I’m really proud to be part of this community,” Conlon said. “In my professional career today, I still use all the lessons this school taught me. It’s pretty incredible how your classroom skills translate to the real world, and the teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills I learned here are all things I use every day."

Many of those skills were on display as students shared ambitious team builds, projects, research and demonstrations with the day’s guests.

“We wanted to be sure to showcase and highlight some of the amazing work of our students,” said John Bau, assistant dean for student experience and career development.

Anthony Varbaro, a test engineer with contract manufacturer Microboard, based in Seymour, Connecticut, is one of the large network of professionals Bau has connected with the school. Varbaro visits with students to discuss the many types of manufacturing opportunities in the state.

“We’ve also worked with students from Quinnipiac, and they’ve had great success in our programs such as our three-month summer program. We’re giving them different exposures to all aspects of the company,” said Varbaro.

As the former Dean of the School of Business, Professor of Finance and Finance Department Chair Matthew O’Connor recalled how the creation of an engineering school was part of former President Lahey’s vision to build a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. He noted the School of Business housed the original engineering programs and played an instrumental role in incubating and launching what is today the School of Computing & Engineering.

“This achievement, however, was truly a university wide effort,” O’Connor said, adding thanks and appreciation go to faculty members from across the university and to the many university offices including Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Facilities, Finance and Admissions, all of whom were integral to the development of the School of Computing & Engineering.

“A very special thank you goes to the original cohort of engineering faculty members, who took a leap of faith by joining a business school with a plan to launch an engineering school. I am thrilled that most of those faculty members remain at Quinnipiac and can see the impact of their accomplishments every time they walk across campus,” O’Connor said.

The school continues to strengthen programs and offer new disciplines in response to a changing world, such as its dual-degree program in cybersecurity. In 2025-2026, the School of Computing & Engineering launched its bachelor’s in artificial intelligence and computing program as well as its master’s in informatics program.

As a more recent member of the faculty, O’Neill said the school continues to innovate and has achieved remarkable success in its first decade.

“I’ve been at Quinnipiac for just over three years now, so I’ve seen the last third of this growth. Hearing from some of the faculty who’ve been here since the beginning about where we started to where we are today, what we’ve done in 10 years is impressive,” said O’Neill. “It says a lot about the excellence of our faculty that we’ve built such a strong reputation in a single decade.”

Kocak said the future of the School of Computing & Engineering is incredibly bright.

“If we have accomplished this much in our first decade, imagine where we can be 10 years from today,” Kocak said.

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