U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have introduced legislation to higher education strengthen their engineering programs to meet the growing demands of 21st century manufacturing.
The bill would designate 25 universities as ‘Manufacturing Universities’ and provide incentives to better align educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers. The incentives would be used to revamp the universities’ engineering programs to focus on manufacturing engineering and curricula specifically related to targeted industries.
“It’s critical that our schools and universities equip students for success in manufacturing and contribute to the research and development that drives advanced manufacturing,” said Coons. “Although our economy has created more than half a million manufacturing jobs over the last three years, hundreds of thousands remain unfilled because we don’t have enough trained workers. We need our engineers to fill the growing demand for manufacturing workers and accelerate manufacturing’s growth. This bipartisan bill would help us meet that challenge. By helping schools focus their engineering programs on advanced manufacturing skills, we can equip our next generation of engineers with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.”
“This is an incredibly important issue for our states’ institutions of higher education and manufacturing industries,” said Senator Graham. “I look forward to working with Senator Coons to explore additional innovative ways to create opportunities for our manufacturing sector to thrive.”
The Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014 would establish a program within the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) charged with designating 25 schools as ‘Manufacturing Universities.’
Designated schools would receive $5 million per year for four years to meet specific goals, including focusing engineering programs on manufacturing, building new partnerships with manufacturing firms, growing training opportunities, and fostering manufacturing entrepreneurship.
“The University of Delaware is pleased to support the Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014 sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. Lindsey Graham,” said Charlie Riordan, Vice Provost for Research at the University of Delaware. “Research universities play a vital role through their research and education providing the foundation for new manufacturing innovations and preparing the next generation of technically trained employees. This legislation aims to ensure U.S. manufacturing remains innovative and entrepreneurial, backed by a well trained cadre of engineers.”
“Economic competitiveness requires the existence of a continuum that includes a great education system, a strong research and innovation base, a vibrant business community and a solid advanced manufacturing capacity,” said Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, Delaware State University Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development and Dean of the College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology. “Should any of these be missing, our nation, like any other, will not be ready to walk the path of prosperity at its optimum pace.”
“DuPont applauds Senator Coons and Senator Graham for introducing the Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014, S. 2719, to help universities further prepare engineering students for careers in innovation and advanced manufacturing,” said Karen Fletcher, cice president of DuPont Engineering, Facilities Services & Real Estate and Chief Engineer. “Engineers at DuPont take discoveries from the labs to the marketplace to address challenges that impact all of us. This Act is an important step in promoting R&D and innovation, and thereby keeping American manufacturing competitive in the global economy and enhancing growth of the U.S. economy and jobs. The Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014 will strengthen the pipeline of talented men and women whom DuPont relies on – from associates who operate our plants to engineers who participate in the discovery process, provide technical expertise, and execute our capital projects.”
This bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Clemson University, the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, DOW Chemical, and DuPont.
