Named for Ralph Heath, a retired president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the Heath Integrated Business and Engineering Program unites students and knowledge in the Tickle College of Engineering and Haslam College of Business.
The Heath Integrated Business and Engineering Program welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2017. Each group of students is selected from the Haslam College of Business and the Tickle College of Engineering through a competitive admissions process. Students in the program spend three years taking classes in business leadership, communication, and process thinking, in addition to other targeted classwork and joint projects. They participate in site visits, hear guest lectures from industry professionals, and are mentored by alumni. A capstone class, in which the group solves a real-world problem at the intersection of business and engineering, completes the program.
The program is named for Ralph Heath, a retired president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, who was instrumental in its creation. Heath, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Tickle College of Engineering and an MBA from the Haslam College of Business, is a member of both advisory boards and a longtime supporter of both colleges.
During his career, Heath saw the need for better communication and understanding between product developers and business leaders. This vision, coupled with generous support from the Heath endowments, led to the establishment of the interdisciplinary program.
This program has expanded my mind in so many ways and has played a huge role in developing me into who I am.
– Kali Holt, 2020 Heath IBEP Cohort
“Heath IBEP graduates will have the necessary technical skills, systems thinking, and business savvy to add real and sustaining value to organizations,” said Heath.
Heath IBEP Director Mary Pile also has degrees from both colleges—a BS in biomedical engineering from Tickle and an MBA from Haslam. From more than a decade of experience as an engineer, Pile knows firsthand the value of nurturing better communication and strategy development between business-oriented professionals who run engineering projects and the engineers who develop the products and innovations.
“Most of my role now is drawing from my experience working in product development in the medical device industry,” says Pile, who developed orthopedic implants for DuPuy, moved to the startup DelPalma Orthopedics, and then to DeRoyal Industries in Powell, Tennessee, where she led teams in trauma and spinal implants, wound care, acute care, and patient care divisions.
“Because of my experiences managing an engineering department, I realized that this collaboration was not really covered in curriculum from either the Tickle College of Engineering or the Haslam College of Business. But this partnership among the disciplines is critical for businesses to succeed, regardless of industry.”
For more information, visit integrate.utk.edu.
