Three schools will team up to reverse the brain drain
BYLINE: Richard Ryman
A collaborative effort by three Wisconsin schools will make a manufacturing engineering degree available for the first time in Northeastern Wisconsin.
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Stout and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will team up to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in manufacturing engineering. Representatives of the three schools signed an agreement during ceremonies Tuesday at NWTC's Manufacturing Technology Center in Green Bay.
"It's a little mind-blowing when you think of NEW North as the strongest manufacturing area outside of Milwaukee, but we didn't have an engineering program in the area," said Jeffrey Rafn, president of NWTC.
NEW North is an 18-county economic development region centered on Northeastern Wisconsin.
Students can attend NWTC for two years, transfer their credits to UW-Stout and complete their four-year degree at NWTC under guidance of UW-Stout instructors. They also will attend UW-Green Bay, taking such courses as chemistry, physics, calculus and geometry.
The program also will be open to people already in the work force who want to continue their education.
As a complement to the program, NWTC created a new manufacturing engineering technology associate degree.
"When we in manufacturing look out over the next decade or so, we see a tremendous need," said George Semenak, maintenance manager at Georgia-Pacific Corp. in Green Bay.
Semenak said the program will help a company such as Georgia-Pacific improve worker skills, recruit new workers and provide experience for interns and co-op students.
Semenak said he moved to Green Bay in 1984 with an associate degree from Michigan Tech.
"The frustration for me was I could not pick up the bachelor's part," he said. "We have a number of people who are looking to do that."
UW-Stout Chancellor Charles Sorensen said his university has a history of outreach to the business community.
"We know that Wisconsin needs development economically," he said.
Bruce Shepard, chancellor at UW-Green Bay, said that each school doing what it does best will result in a quality engineering degree program.
"It will help us reverse the brain drain and help us have a brain gain," Shepard said about losing promising students to other areas of the state and country.
Mark Harris, manager of organizational development for Enzymatic Therapy in Green Bay, said collaborative efforts are key to success for the NEW North economic development region.
"It is important to have a good model to follow," he said of Tuesday's announcement.
Jim Golembeski, executive director of Bay Area Workforce Development Board, said area businesses have a growing need for skilled workers, including engineers. He said the program is another way to encourage students to study engineering.
"What all of this says is that manufacturing is alive and well in Wisconsin," Rafn said. "This is one of the few areas in the country that has seen an increase in manufacturing jobs after that bottoming out a few years ago."
To find out more
Information on manufacturing engineering degrees through Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Stout and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is available at:
* www.uwstout.edu/programs/bsmfe/ps.html
* (920) 498-5444
Press-Gazette
To find out more
Information on manufacturing engineering degrees through Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Stout and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is available at:
* www.uwstout.edu/programs/bsmfe/ps.html
* (920) 498-5444
Press-Gazette