Kansas Engineering Programs Get First $1 Million Boost

Thu, December 15, 2011

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KMUW / Carla Eckels

Gov. Brownback and the Kansas Board of Regents announced Wednesday the first one million dollar investment in the Keeping Kansas Competitive engineering expansion initiative.

KMUW’s Carla Eckels reports Wichita State University is one of three colleges that will receive funding to help efforts to address the need for more engineers by industries in the state.

Professional engineering programs at WSU, Kansas State University, and the University of Kansas are all a part of the initiative.  Zulma Toro-Ramos, dean of WSU’s College of Engineering, says for the next 11 years, all three engineering schools will receive $3.5 million dollars per year in state funds with a dollar-for-dollar match provided by the universities.

“And the goal is to increase by 60 percent the number of undergraduate degrees awarded by our institutions to students in such a way that we can grow the engineering talent needed by the state of Kansas and that will help us maintain the competitive edge,” says Toro-Ramos.

The three universities will implement plans to increase engineering graduates to just more than 1,300 per year by 2021.  The Department of Commerce will also work with companies to link them with the graduates, as well as provide periodic reports to the legislature. State lawmakers approved the funding last spring.