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Focus on engineering work force inspires donors
The focus on multidisciplinary learning mimics what is happening in industry today. Jaskolski believes this focus answers a critical need. “No one operates in silos anymore, and we can’t teach engineering as if we do,” Jaskolski says. “The multidisciplinary approach is imperative to developing talented engineers.”
The mission to educate the 21st-century work force through multidisciplinary, hands-on learning echoes the beliefs of Robert Kern, founder of Generac Power Systems Inc., and his wife, Patricia.
“It is compatible with our belief that future generations will be increasingly dependent on expanding science and engineering technology by talented, educated engineers,” the Kerns said in a statement.
Although they are not alumni, the Kerns recognize the important role engineers will play in the future economic viability of Milwaukee and the nation. They have long supported the Project Lead the Way initiative that is focused on attracting American middle and high school students to engineering studies.
“We need to educate students for lifelong careers in engineering,” Jaskolski says. “With technology changing at lightning speed, we need to train students to be adaptable and entrepreneurial because what they’re prepared for today may be obsolete a few years down the road.”
Rick Smith, president of R.A. Smith & Associates, a civil engineering firm in Milwaukee, agrees. “Today our market is burgeoning globally and to compete, firms need a good supply of the best intellectual resources available,” says Smith, Eng ’73 and Grad ’82. “A new facility provides the opportunity to not only attract the brightest emerging educators in the nation and the most promising students but more importantly provides the sought-after talent pool for business and industry to grow.” — ADB
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