ASU Approved for New Engineering Degree Plan

The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents has approved a new bachelor’s degree program in civil engineering at Angelo State University, pending final approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

At its regular meeting today (Friday) in Lubbock, the regents approved the addition of the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree to ASU’s Department of Physics and Geosciences with implementation projected for the fall semester of 2015.  New faculty, additional equipment and materials, and a new building will be required for the new program, and ASU has already received a $4.5 million gift to fund construction of the new building from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.  Groundbreaking for the new facility is tentatively scheduled for next summer near the Vincent Nursing-Physical Science Building off Vanderventer Street.

“We already have an award-winning physics program,” said ASU President Brian J. May, “and our geosciences program has shown tremendous growth since it came online in 2010.  The next logical step is to expand and offer an engineering program that will bring more of the brightest young minds in West Texas to Angelo State, and potentially attract other top students from throughout Texas and the U.S.”

“However, we would not be in a position to start this new program without the generosity of our anonymous donor,” May added.  “ASU has truly been blessed this year with major donations for our athletic facilities, a new agriculture training center and now a new engineering facility.  These donors are an inspiration to the entire Angelo State community.”

The civil engineering program will build on ASU’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.

Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of civil engineers to grow by about 20 percent by 2020, nearly double the growth rate projected for all occupations.

“At ASU, we pride ourselves in building academic programs that prepare our students for careers that help meet the needs of our greater society,” May said.  “We have done that with our nursing, computer science, geosciences and many other programs, and now we are continuing in that direction with engineering.”