Kansas Seeking Increase in Engineering Grads

Kansas is moving toward a goal of increasing the number of college graduates majoring in engineering.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kansas has a multiyear plan to increase college degrees in engineering to 1,365 annually by 2021. That compares with 875 in 2008.

The initiative includes more than $100 million in funding by the Legislature for Wichita State, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas. The money is given out over a decade with includes matching university funds.

The Kansas Board of Regents says so far the universities are on track to hit the 2021 target.

The effort got a recent boost from Spirit AeroSystems, a Wichita-based flight technology manufacturer, that said it’ll invest more than half a million dollars in college scholarships, particularly for engineering majors.