August 10, 2012
Allen I. Ormsbee, Ph.D.
Baltimore, MD - Longtime ABET leader Allen I. Ormsbee, Ph.D., who also received the 2010 Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award, passed away following complications from pneumonia in New Bern, NC, on July 13, 2012.
Ormsbee began his ABET service in 1970 as a program evaluator for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He joined the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) in 1985, became a member of its Executive Committee in 1990, and served as EAC Chair for the 1992-93 accreditation cycle. Ormsbee was named a Fellow of ABET in 1995.
After service on the EAC, Ormsbee was AIAA's Representative Director to the ABET Board from 1994 to 2000. During that period, he was on the Public Member Committee and spent two years as ABET Secretary while simultaneously serving as a Representative Director. In addition, Ormsbee was a member of the Finance Committee, which he also chaired from 1996 to 1998. This experience prepared him for the position of ABET Treasurer, an office that he held from 2000 until he retired from the ABET Board in 2006.
In 2010, Ormsbee received ABET's highest honor, the Grinter Award, for his decades of exceptional service and particularly for his fiscal stewardship while on the Finance Committee and as ABET Treasurer.
Ormsbee served a 35-year tenure as a Professor of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After retiring from Illinois, he became a Professor and Department Head for Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, FL.
Ormsbee is survived by his wife of nearly 66 years, Geraldine; their three daughters; and four grandchildren. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, the family asks that donations be made to:
The Allen Ormsbee Fund
College of Engineering
University of Illinois
1305 W. Green St.
Urbana, IL 61801
About ABET
ABET, the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology, is a federation of 31 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for more than 75 years.
ABET currently accredits over 3,000 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities worldwide. More than 2,000 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through workshops, memoranda of understanding, and mutual recognition agreements, such as the Washington Accord. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.