Letters to the Editor

Letter: Elevation of UAA school spells more opportunity for youths

The UAA School of Engineering was recently elevated to a College of Engineering! Congratulations to administrators, faculty and advisors, who worked jointly for many years to make this possible.

Some have been in the trenches since UAA's founding. Enrollment increases are dramatic and a new engineering building is under construction. The many Alaska K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs will not only sustain large future enrollments but insure continued growth. Multi-disciplinary graduate programs will inevitably follow.

The importance to Alaska's future of ready local access to a contemporary technical education, for the majority of the population living in Southcentral Alaska, cannot be overstated. Many more college-bound young people will now remain in state to receive this type of education, and won't be lost Outside after graduation, distracted by employment and marriage. Technical education and career planning now has a high-quality local option. A more stable work force composed of innovative young Alaskans will have huge economic benefits to business and industry, our communities and the state.

— Bob Baldein

Anchorage

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