By Sydney Franklin 03.28.2014

 

This article has been updated as of today at 2:50 p.m. The types of engineering Milligan is pursuing are mechanical and electrical, not chemical.

 

Making over $89,000 a year right out of college sounds appealing, right? We all know it’s definitely not a number many Milligan grads come close to. Your average ministry major or elementary school teacher will likely never be on that level.

 

I’m wondering, does Milligan offer an undergraduate degree that produces major moneymakers?

 

It might. Here’s how:

 

Administration is currently talking about adding an engineering major to the college’s curriculum --- a degree that would churn out some highly paid 22-year olds. But the two types of engineering the college is considering, mechanical and electrical, aren’t the highest in demand nor have the best potential job growth.

 

So, why engineering? A physician’s assistant program is a hot career in the medical field that Milligan is also considering. It certainly seems like a better fit for the college. Despite this, engineering is still the talk of the town, or campus in our case.

 

In a meeting on Feb. 11, the faculty was presented with the summary of a feasibility study for a potential engineering program at Milligan. Administrators hired consultant Dr. Greg Harrell, former Virginia Tech engineering professor, to project what a program would look like.

 

The creation of this program at Milligan would require additional facilities, lab space and faculty, including increasing enrollment in courses that may intertwine with engineering, such as physics and chemistry.

 

Harrell predicted that Milligan could begin the program by fall 2015, recommending that six new faculty are hired and 30 new students express commitment.

 

Young refers to this as an “overly aggressive timeline” and sees 2016-17 as more doable. He hopes to start a modest launch with some 15 students the first year and have 85 in total by the fourth year.

 

Young also estimates the curriculum to potentially go over the 128 hours required for undergraduate completion. Students may take summer semester courses or a fifth year to finish, though four years is the preferred option right now.

 

“The program would be so intensive that it would be largely a lock-step curriculum,” he said.

 

Students interested in this particular program would have to declare their major freshman year.

 

Choosing to give life to an idea like this is quite the daunting task. So, administrators ask several questions when considering the addition of a program like engineering.

 

“What is the possibility that we are going to be able to attract students in that particular major?” said Dr. Garland Young, vice president and dean of academic affairs.

 

“Does (this program) fit with the ethos of our curriculum?” said Lee Fierbaugh, vice president for enrollment and marketing. “What careers are hot and of interest to individuals?”

 

Fierbaugh said the college wants to increase enrollment to 2,000 students according to Milligan’s Long Range Plan directed by the Board of Trustees.

 

While this conversation continues on campus, it signifies a larger tension in adding degrees that will both fit Milligan’s mission and stay relevant to the growing job market. We need majors that have job security and enable us to use our skills of servant leadership in the field.

 

Engineering is not the only major program in the running for a permanent spot in the catalog. Administrators are looking at the possibility of a physics major that could begin next year, the physician’s assistant major starting no earlier than 2017, and a master’s in liberal studies for 2017. Milligan added social work, economics, and music business within the last year.

 

“Engineering gets a bigger splash just because it’s going to be more work,” said Young. “That makes it look like sometimes we are more committed to more technical programs than we are liberal arts ones, and that’s not the case.”

 

More than 300 schools in the United States associated with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology offer a bachelor’s degree program in engineering, according to Engineering.com. Three of those programs are at Messiah, Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and Lipscomb University in Nashville.

 

Milligan administrators visited Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Penn. - a private Christian liberal arts school with approximately 3,000 students and a successful engineering program. Messiah offers majors in biomedical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineering.

 

Young mentioned that an engineering program provides good employment prospects for high paying jobs.

 

“Over a period of decades, it makes sense to offer some programs that have high salaries,” said Young. “You’re never going to have a high salary in Bible or religion, yet we are very committed to those programs.”

 

Now that the engineering idea is out in the open, Milligan faculty are asking loaded questions by the water fountain and in the cafeteria, according to Dr. Nathaniel Wentzel, assistant professor of physics.

 

“Would students in this program have the same sort of experience at Milligan that other students have?” he said. “I think it fits Milligan’s mission, but we would have to have other conversations about what the effect of a program that big would have on campus.”

 

These same questions were being asked when the nursing major began in 1993. Could the college financially support this? What resources were needed? Did this stray too far from the liberal arts core?

 

The program had a rough start, but after two decades of excellence in nursing, Milligan has answered these concerns for itself.

 

Dr. Richard Lura, professor of chemistry, thinks that the physician’s assistant program makes perfect sense for Milligan, more so than engineering.

 

“There is no PA program in the local area and it doesn’t require as much specialized equipment,” said Lura. “Because we’ve got baby boomers starting to retire, we’re going to flood the system. So there going to be a need for healthcare providers.”

 

Administrators are working hard to understand the many challenges they may face and ways in which engineering will suit Milligan’s mission. It may be some time before we hear any official plans to begin engineering here.

 

For now, many questions need answering and many people need convincing. In these preliminary conversations, Milligan has to decide whether or not a potential major should be put back on the shelf or left on the counter out in the open. Not all majors mesh well with Milligan’s mission.

 

“There are always job possibilities in mortuary science. People are always going to die and need to be prepared for burial,” said Young. “That job is never going to go away. Is that job a good fit for Milligan?" 

 

The current majors offered at Milligan are meant to reflect the goals of the college.

 

“Whenever we think about programs,” said Young, “we are looking for things that build on our current strengths or help us extend our mission into the world in some new and creative way.”

 

Whether or not the program is established, engineering is certainly a new and innovative way of accomplishing Milligan’s mission. The ways in which engineers can serve are boundless.

 

“Engineers can make mobility devices for people injured by landmines in third-world countries,” said Young. “They can devise simpler ways of repairing water pumps that have been installed in remote villages in Africa. They can come up with new ways of farming, disposing of waste and promoting clean water and air.”

 

Think about it. Milligan’s majors spur students on to becoming successful servants in the working world. Why not make good money and have fun while doing it?