On behest of Dean Robert Bishop, in 2018, the University of South Florida’s College of Engineering  established the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Educators (ADE2) to promote and support excellence in education, to create a convergence of enhanced student learning experiences, to aid the professional enrichment of faculty, and to empower excellent educators. 

On June 30, 2017, two founding members, Drs. Kingsley Reeves and Autar Kaw met with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Sanjukta Bhanja, the leader of the organization, to establish the name, recruitment, member benefits, mission and early initiatives of the academy.  In January 2018, an application for membership was released.  After a rigorous selection process, four more members were added in Fall 2018 to the academy – Drs. Miguel Labrador and Ken Christensen of Computer Science and Engineering, Dr. Jonathan Gaines of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Scott Campbell of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.