Second Civil Engineering Program Added at TTU System
Civil engineering classes at Angelo State University are scheduled to begin on campus this coming fall semester.
April 24, 2015 | Contact Doug Hensley
The new civil engineering program at Angelo State University will be the second at
universities in the Texas Tech University System.A new bachelor’s degree program in civil engineering at Angelo State University was recently approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), making it the second program of its kind at universities within the Texas Tech University System.
“We are extremely proud of Angelo State for its hard work in developing a new civil engineering program,” said Chancellor Robert L. Duncan. “The addition of this degree plan is not only a feather in the academic cap of Angelo State, but it also strengthens the engineering pipeline at the Texas Tech University System by having programs at two universities.”
Engineering classes at Angelo State University are scheduled to begin on campus this coming fall semester.
New faculty, additional equipment and materials, and dedicated space will be required for the program, and the university has received a $4.5 million gift to fund construction of the new facility from an anonymous donor, which is set to begin immediately.
“This is an exciting step forward for Angelo State,” said Brian J. May, president of Angelo State University. “Adding engineering to our already popular physics and geosciences programs will bring more of the brightest young minds in West Texas to ASU and potentially attract other top students from throughout Texas and the U.S.”
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The civil engineering program will build on Angelo State University’s highly successful programs in the sciences, including physics, geosciences, computer science and mathematics. There is already significant community support for the program with several local engineering firms committed to providing student internship opportunities. The new program will also open up opportunities for Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grants and transfer agreements that were previously unavailable. One such agreement has already been signed and funded. In August, Angelo State University was awarded a five-year, $2.87 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a cooperative project between Angelo State University and Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) in Uvalde. |
Grant funds will be utilized to hire faculty and provide infrastructure for the engineering program at Angelo State University. They also will be used to establish an associate’s degree in engineering sciences at SWTJC, where students would be able to transfer to Angelo State University to complete a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
“We have been preparing for this moment since last summer,” May said. “Our new provost, Dr. Don Topliff, has a solid engineering background and will lead the way as we implement the engineering program. The entire campus is excited that we have our final approval and can begin educating the next generation of civil engineers right here at Angelo State.”
In May of 2014, the Board of Regents approved the addition of the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering to Angelo State University’s Department of Physics and Geosciences, pending final THECB approval. With approval granted, Angelo State University joins Texas Tech University in offering the second civil engineering degree plan throughout the Texas Tech University System.
Students at Texas Tech University can choose from degree plans at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels. As part of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, the degree program at Texas Tech University dates back to 1933.
About the Texas Tech University System
The Texas Tech University System is one of the top public university systems in the
nation, consisting of four component institutions —Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso—and operating at 12 academic sites and centers. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas,
the Texas Tech University System has an annual operating budget of $1.7 billion and
approximately 17,000 employees focused on advancing higher education, health care,
research and outreach around the globe.
In 2014, the Texas Tech University System endowment exceeded $1 billion, total research expenditures were approximately $200 million and total enrollment approached 47,000 students. Whether it’s contributing billions of dollars annually in economic impact or being the only system in Texas to house an academic institution, law school and medical school at the same location, the Texas Tech University System continues to prove that anything is possible.