High five: Trine once again voted region’s best; Tyler named Best Professor
October 10, 2025
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Tim Tyler, Ph.D.
Readers of Fort Wayne Newspapers have voted Trine University the Best College in the
Greater Fort Wayne region for the fifth straight year.
The university also was honored as the area’s Best Higher Education institution, and
Tim Tyler, Ph.D., professor in the Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at Trine, was recognized as the region’s Best Professor.
The honors were announced Oct. 9 as part of Fort Wayne Newspapers’ annual Readers’
Choice awards.
“We’re grateful to the readers of Fort Wayne Newspapers for selecting Trine University
as the top institution in this region for an unprecedented fifth straight year,” said
Trine University President Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D. “In the competitive higher education
landscape of northeast Indiana, Trine University’s outstanding job placement, career-focused
academic programs, state-of-the-art facilities, committed faculty and vibrant campus
life continue to set us apart as an industry leader, and we’re proud that so many
across the area recognize our mission and commitment to students.”
Continued recognition and growth
The honor continues a string of recognitions for Trine University this fall. The university
was recently included among US News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges and Princeton
Review’s Best in the Midwest.
Trine University continues to set enrollment records, welcoming the largest incoming
class of new students in its history this fall.
To accommodate ongoing growth, the university continues to expand and upgrade its
physical facilities. The university opened the 200-bed Summit Street Apartments, and
work is underway on the John and Mary Pellegrino Student Design Center, renovations
to Zollner Stadium and the new inflatable dome that will serve Thunder athletic teams.
Impact before and after graduation
Chris Carroll, Ph.D., dean of the Allen School of Engineering and Computing, said
Dr. Tyler represents the excellence and personal attention that all faculty in Trine’s
Allen School of Engineering and Computing bring to the classroom.
“Dr. Tyler has been beloved on the Trine University campus for many years. He not
only cares about his students and equips them to succeed after they graduate, he provides
and facilitates opportunities for them to make an impact even before they complete
their degree,” he said.
As faculty advisor to Trine University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, Dr.
Tyler has led multiple trips to Ecuador where students have worked to improve water
supplies to rural villages.
He received Trine University’s John J. and Mary Gelet McKetta Excellence in Teaching
Award in Engineering in 2023 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Greater Fort
Wayne Business Weekly’s Education Awards in 2018.
As we celebrate National Nurses Week, the nursing workforce is under pressure across the country. Staff shortages, high patient acuity and increasing complexity of care delivery are besetting our healthcare systems. Nursing education programs are being asked to provide graduates who will step directly into practice - faster, more efficiently and with the ability to cope at an increasingly fast pace with changing environments.
Mitch Daniels, former governor of the state of Indiana and former president of Purdue University, shared advice with graduates he said were entering a world he described as “the most promising and most uncertain and treacherous” as Trine University held Commencement ceremonies on May 2.
