HCC seeks to hire more engineering professors
Feb 19, 2014
HCC and UT Tyler's Engineering Program has been very popular among students. All Engineering, Physics and Math classes for HCC's new Associate of Science in Engineering Science (ASES) degree are full for spring 2014. To help more students enroll into the program, HCC is seeking to hire more faculty at its Alief, Spring Branch and Katy campuses to accommodate the high demand.
"We are truly committed to producing engineers in West Houston because we understand the great need of our community's job market. There's no better way to honor this commitment than by hiring more qualified faculty to train our students, so that we may continue to fulfill our mission to be an element of ensuring Houston's prosperous future." said Dr. Zachary Hodges, President, HCC Northwest.
The program allows HCC students the opportunity to complete a two-year ASES degree. This degree qualifies HCC students to seamlessly and immediately transfer to the UT Tyler engineering program, conveniently located at HCC's Alief Hayes Road campus, where they complete the third and fourth years of UTT's bachelor's degree. With the recent opening of the UT Tyler Houston Engineering Center, students now have the opportunity to obtain a bachelor's degree in civil, electrical or mechanical engineering from UT Tyler in West Houston.
"Several students currently in pursuit of their ASES degree knew they wanted to be an engineer, but aspects such as cost and class time flexibility were always deterrents. This unique HCC-UTT engineering partnership means that students can complete a bachelor's degree that's less than $19,000 for the entire four-year program. This enables students with varying circumstances to enter the engineering pipeline." said Susan Thompson, Program Director for Engineering Internships and STEM Initiatives - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, HCC Northwest.
Since its inception in 2012, HCC's ASES degree seekers have grown from 178 in Spring of 2013 to 498 in the Spring 2014 semester. This increased enrollment has led to a great demand for additional classes specifically in Engineering, Physics and Math (Calculus I, II, III and Differential Equations.)
Designed to reach out to an underserved population, HCC's group of prospective engineers is diverse with 30 percent Hispanic, 23 percent Black and 26 percent female enrollment.
"Several of our professors have experience working in the engineering field and understand the industry's need to diversify. These professors are motivated about teaching at HCC because they know that they are helping to change the face of engineering," said Thompson.
Those interested in becoming a faculty member need to have a Master's Degree and minimum of 18 graduate hours in the program area that will be taught. Positions can be found on http://www.hccjobs.com under job reference numbers 003560 (Engineering), 002710 (Physics) or 000044 (Math). Applicants are also encouraged to contact HCC Northwest Math Chair Ernest Lowery (ernest.lowery@hccs.edu), or HCC Northwest Physical Sciences Chair (for Engineering and Physics) Dwight Kranz (dwight.kranz@hccs.edu).
For additional information regarding the HCC and UT Tyler Engineering Partnership visit www.hccs.edu/engineering or contact Susan Thompson at susan.thompson@hccs.edu.