September 24, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - From the home to the office to the factory, technology is changing the way we live our 
lives and do our jobs.
At Western Kentucky University, the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences is doing its part to respond to manufacturing challenges and changes.
“If you like change, this is the place to be,” said Mark Doggett, assistant professor and coordinator of the department’s graduate program.
Among the initiatives under way in the department are:
- A partnership with E.ON U.S. and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to provide educational opportunities for the utility company’s line technicians.
- Growth of the online master’s degree program in manufacturing technology.
- Installation of a $1.5 million automated robotics laboratory on campus.
- Program changes to meet the needs of business and industry in the region.
E.ON U.S. partnership
The partnership between WKU, KCTCS and E.ON U.S. will allow the utility employees to participate in a 2+2 program to receive associate and bachelor’s degrees then progress to the master’s in technology management.
Earlier this summer, Doggett and assistant professor Greg Arbuckle attended kickoff events in Louisville and Lexington for the program. The WKU program is offered entirely online so the line workers will be able to work full-time while earning their degrees.
“They don’t have the freedom to sign up for regular evening courses,” Arbuckle said. “The online portion was very attractive to them.”
E.ON is interested in the educational programs to train supervisors within the company, he said. WKU representatives met with about 80 employees in Louisville and 100 in Lexington.
The program will help extend WKU’s reach and since E.ON is an international company the potential exists to expand the online program to E.ON operations elsewhere, Arbuckle said.
Online master’s growth
While it may take several years for the E.ON employees to advance to the master’s level, the online program in technology management already is experiencing rapid growth.
The department has more than 40 students in the program, making it the fourth largest online graduate program at WKU. The goal is to add 20 students per year.
The entire technology management program is offered online and is geared toward working people so students can seamlessly move from an associate’s degree to bachelor’s degree to master’s degree without having to come to campus, Doggett said.
Graduates of the program will be equipped to manage their organization’s technical resources, lead technological change and integrate technology into the strategic objectives of their organizations.
Students in the program come from a variety of professions – health care, information technology, manufacturing, construction, civil service, military, law, business, education and human resources.
The program provides training to manage technology of today as well as preparing for the future, said Bryan Reaka, assistant professor in the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences.
“We want to guide people to be prepared for the workforce of the future,” Reaka said.
Robotics lab
As part of the effort to prepare the new workforce, WKU is installing a $1.5 million automated robotics lab at the Environmental Sciences and Technology Building.
The program will include students and faculty in manufacturing, computer science and engineering. The three departments will work together to manufacture a project just like in the real-world setting, Arbuckle said.
Engineering students will design a product; manufacturing students will determine how to build it; computer science students will analyze the data.
All of the equipment will be robotic and computer controlled. Some equipment has been installed with more on the way this semester. The lab also will include 20 computer stations with animation and drafting software.
Seniors in the spring 2009 semester will work on a project in the new lab.
“The students will be better prepared for the workplace,” Arbuckle said. “We also want to make the lab attractive for businesses to bring projects here for our students to work on.”
Responding to continued changes
The automated robotics lab plays an integral part in the department’s responsiveness to changes in business
and industry.
“We’re trying to answer business and industry needs in this region,” Arbuckle said, noting that one example of the responsiveness is the creation of a food automation program in Owensboro, which is home to a Ragu production plant.
“We’re working hard for working adults,” Arbuckle said. “We’re not out there doing traditional things.”
The manufacturing technology program combines aspects of business and engineering, Doggett said. “Our students act as a link between those two disciplines,” he said. “They can speak the language of both. They’re managing the technical aspects of a business or organization.”
At the undergraduate level, students are geared to become managers, engineers, entrepreneurs or educators. Most become managers or engineers. The difference now is that engineers or managers will have a WKU graduate in that role, Doggett said.
Not only do the students have the expertise to communicate with the business and engineering disciplines, they also gain the technical knowledge to communicate with employees on the floor of a manufacturing plant, Arbuckle said.
And the manufacturing plants of today are clean, high-tech operations unlike the factory settings of the past, he said.
WKU is part of a nationwide trend in responding to manufacturing changes.
“There are other areas we haven’t even explored,” Doggett said, such as alternative energy, alternative transportation, automotive industry changes and environmentally appropriate technologies.
“A lot of my students are interested in energy. That’s an area that we’re going to need to explore in this department,” Doggett said.
That responsiveness to change is what keeps Doggett excited. “We have to look into the future,” he said. “This is the place where it happens.”
The next step is getting the word out about program changes and recruit students for the technology management opportunities in the workforce of future. “We’re the best kept secret on campus,” Reaka said.
“Our challenge is going to be to make sure students know about our program,” Doggett said.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Greg Arbuckle at (270) 745-6592.
-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"
Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu