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Kansas Aims To Get More Engineering Graduates In State

Wichita State University College of Engineering

Kansas is working towards a goal of increasing the number of college graduates majoring in engineering.

Kansas has a multi-year plan to increase the number of engineering degrees each year until they reach 1365 graduates by 2021. The initiative includes more than $100 million in funding by the state Legislature for Wichita State, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.

The money given includes matching university funds. Royce Bowden, Wichita State University Dean of Engineering, says the purpose of the engineering initiative act is to help the Kansas university system produce more engineers for the state.

"And that’s really vital to grow the state’s economy," Bowden says. "We grow economies often through the creation of technologies that therefore produce additional jobs within our state, so it’s very important that we increase the number of practicing engineers in Kansas."

The Kansas Board of Regents says so far the universities are on track to hit the 2021 target. Recently, Wichita’s Spirit AeroSystems announced an investment of more than a half-a-million dollars in scholarships for Kansas universities' business and engineering programs.

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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.

To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.