Electrical engineering may partner with Weber
The electrical engineering program at USU may extend to Weber State University in attempt to fulfill the need for more engineers at Hill Air Force base.
Sen. Greg Bell presented a bill (SB 53) Monday, Jan. 22 to get funding for this new partnership from the Utah Legislature. This partnership will allow people in Davis County to receive their degree in electrical engineering close to home, he said. This “perfect marriage” will be located at the WSU campus, located less than a mile from Hill Air Force Base, he said.
“We want partnerships. We want institutions to do what they do well and feel a need to involve other institutions,” Bell said.
The Davis County building that will house this proposed partnership was funded a few years ago by state legislature and is located in Layton as an extension to WSU, he said. This allows people in the Layton area to not have to leave far from home to get a degree, he said. More and more people today are getting their degrees online or in distance learning centers like this one in Layton, he said.
This proposed program will allow WSU to begin training students in electrical engineering, after which the students can finish their bachelor’s degrees through USU’s program, Bell said. WSU will provide the building while USU will provide the degree, he said.
Dean Scott Hinton of the College of Engineering said this partnership is very important to USU. He also said President Stan Albrecht and the rest of the school take the land-grant mission very seriously. USU, being a land-grant school, is responsible for having and sharing with the state of Utah expertise in various areas including electrical engineering.
“We are excited to work with Weber State and build this partnership,” Hinton said.
Bell also said the program will be a great way for USU to fulfill its obligations as a land-grant university in Utah.
Richard Kendell, Commissioner of Utah State Higher Education, said this is a very responsive program for Hill Air Force Base. He said it is a strategic move for the future of Utah.
“This is two institutions working together to assist one of the major employers in the state of Utah,” Kendell said.
The students that receive the degree this proposed program will offer can get a job at Hill Air Force Base starting at mid $50,000 a year fresh out of college, he said.
Hill Air Force Base has a current need this year for 700 to 750 new engineers and next year will have a projected need for 600 to 650 new engineers, Bell said. The base also has the need to offer continuous education to the employees they already have in order to keep up with new technology, he said.
Col. Jeff Wandrey, deputy director of engineering at Hill Air Force Base, also said this partnership is a good thing. The base has a continuing demand for engineers, he said, and currently 160 of their current engineers are in the retirement bracket. Hill Air Force Base is the number-one employer for the state, employing 24,500 people, he said.
Wandrey said Hill Air Force Base is primarily looking for electrical and software engineers, which is exactly what this program will create.
Bell said if the bill is passed, both USU and WSU will receive funding from state legislature. These funds have not finalized yet. Building a whole new program will cost a substantial amount of money, he said. This partnership will save a lot of money while allowing USU to share its electrical engineering program, he said.
-emredfie@cc.usu.edu