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Session 1793

A Case Study: Development of a Practice Oriented Engineering Program with Implications for Regional Economic Development

Paul Kauffmann Ralph Rogers Phil Lunsford

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Introduction

This paper describes an engineering program planned for implementation at East Carolina University in fall 2004. The program presents a unique design synthesis of concentration areas required to enhance regional economic development and the best practices identified from the work of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Education Coalition (EEC) program. The paper begins with an examination of the economic development issues of eastern North Carolina to provide context for the primary motivation of the program initiation. It then discusses the NSF EEC program and the major educational findings that impact on the new engineering program design. Building on the background from these sections, it then presents an overview of the new program, its curricular structure, and general objectives as a unique synthesis of the regional economic development needs and EEC innovations.

Eastern North Carolina Economic Issues

In the last ten years, there has been a major shift in the economic base of eastern North Carolina. For generations, the regional economy was driven by agriculture and in particular tobacco production. In recent years, this economy has made a major transition to a manufacturing, military, and government / service based economy. Figure 1 indicates that over 85% of the total regional payroll comes from these sectors and the largest component is manufacturing.1

Regional Payroll by Economic Sector

Tourism Agriculture 5% 10% Manufacturing 34%

Military 20%

Government 31%

Figure 1 Economic Development Overview of Eastern North Carolina

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering

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Rogers, R., & Lunsford, P., & Kauffmann, P. (2004, June), A Case Study: Development Of A Practice Oriented Engineering Program With Implications For Regional Economic Development Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13564