Region's UW Campuses Want to Create Engineering Consortium

Tom Giffey |

Consortiums are like bridges, right?
Consortiums are like bridges, right?

The leaders of three universities in our corner of the state are pushing to create a shared program to meet what they say is a shortage of engineers in the region. UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-River Falls have asked the UW System for permission to create the Northwest Wisconsin Engineering Consortium. The partnership would create a quasi-college with a core curriculum, allowing students at any one of the three schools to move among the programs offered by the other campuses. “Our employers are saying, ‘Can you help us?’ They’re saying we need more engineering degrees,” UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer told the UW System Board of Regents in November. Meyer and his UWEC counterpart, James Schmidt, also spoke in favor of the plan when the Regents met in early December. However, critics have said the proposed consortium would simply redistribute engineering students within the UW System, not create an increase in the number of engineers, and a study commissioned by UW System administration recommended against creating an engineering program in northern or western Wisconsin. Nonetheless, we can expect leaders of the three regional campuses to continue to advocate for the plan, which will be under consideration by the Regents at their February meeting.