College of Engineering dean, students featured on WLBZ
WLBZ (Channel 2) spoke with several students in the University of Maine College of Engineering, as well as Dana Humphrey, dean of the college, for a report about Maine’s need for more engineers. Several students showed off their capstone projects, including a clean snowmobile, and spoke about their plans for after graduation. Humphrey said many of the 325 seniors in the Class of 2017 have already found jobs, and 99 percent will have jobs or be in graduate school in the first year after graduation. However, he added, 25 percent of the state’s current engineers are expected to retire over the next decade, while many businesses are looking to hire additional engineers to increase or improve their production. He said to meet the demand, the College of Engineering will need to grow significantly, increasing the number of graduates to 400–500 per year. To do so, UMaine is looking to the legislature, WLBZ reported, and there are several bills before lawmakers to borrow the money to expand the college. “Maine’s growing economy depends on it,” Humphrey said.