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Calling All Engineers
New UNH program seeks to fill technology void
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Business New Haven
2/18/2002
By: BNH
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WEST HAVEN - The University of New Haven School of Engineering & Applied Science is one of seven U.S. universities selected to lead middle and high school teachers in a pre-engineering curriculum. The program was developed by “Project Lead the Way” (PLTW), a national non-profit organization committed to resolving the nation's shortage of engineers and technology professionals.
Zulma Toro-Ramos, dean of the school, says that the United States needs to fill more than one million engineering and technology jobs and the education system has not produced enough candidates for them. “It is truly a question,” she says, “of who will engineer tomorrow; who will design and build solutions?”
The PLTW program was inaugurated at UNH in January, with an informational workshop for teachers, curriculum coordinators and principals from across the state.
“Knowing the need for engineers and technology professionals in the state, I applaud the University of New Haven for stepping forward in this regard through its affiliation with Project Lead the Way,” said state Education Commissioner Theodore S. Sergi.
Michael Theodore, president of the Connecticut Technology Council, agrees: “This is an exciting first step toward meeting the challenge of getting students interested in science and engineering as a career path.”
According to project director and UNH engineering professor Ali Golbazi: “The engineering field is probably the only profession that offers starting salaries over $50,000 for new college graduates. No other field, including medicine and law, pays such a starting salary after only four years of college.
“The goals of this project are to expand engineering and technology awareness among high school students, provide a professional development program for teachers, inspire less motivated high school students to seek science and engineering education, and help high schools integrate engineering principles and innovative engineering topics into their classrooms,” adds Golbazi.
UNH program development is supported by a $50,000 grant from the 3M Foundation. Oliver Smith, site director for 3M in West Haven, calls technology education and career development “a national priority for the 3M Foundation. 3M, like all technology companies, needs a well-educated, highly skilled pool of university graduates from which to draw for our professional staffing needs. We strongly endorse the UNH/Project Lead the Way program as a solution for the future.”
The PLTW program has more than 300 participating school sites in 30 states.
UNH recently was named to U. S. News & World Report's Best Colleges list when the School of Engineering's Chemical Engineering program was judged to be one of the best in the country.
Each year, U.S. News ranks the “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and Specialties” based on nominations by deans and senior faculty of engineering schools. The rankings were conducted in the spring of 2001 for publication in the September issue, containing “America's Best Colleges 2002.”
The UNH program tied for fifth in the national category, “Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Chemical Engineering.”
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