In relation to Dr. Wendler’s WT 125 outlook for West Texas A&M University, the school of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics will forever be changed to the College of Engineering, starting a new chapter towards excellence and growth.

“When I came here,we were on the first floor we had one floor for engineering, and now we are on two floors, were growing our enrollment up. We have students that are graduating and going out and being competitive in the field. So it represents the quality of our education,” said Dr. Erick Butler, associate professor of environmental engineering

With this monumental occasion, transitioning from a school to a college is a big deal dating back to when the department was still a part of the College of Agriculture. Seeing the agriculture department branch away and now engineering doing the same is a sign of growth and progression.

“I think this is going to show us that we’re trending upward in terms of where we’re going and how we’re going to be able to be competitive, or be a participant in the competitive environment as, you know, higher education,” said Butler.

Being under the Texas A&M University umbrella from a division one school to our very own division 2 WTAMU we can see that engineering is playing a big role in student enrollment and success.

According to the Texas A&M University College of Engineering, “The Texas A&M University College of Engineering is one of the largest engineering schools in the country, ranking first in undergraduate enrollment and ninth in graduate enrollment by the American Society for Engineering Education in its 2019 survey.”

“Students are trusting our brand. They’re coming in, they’re seeing the value of what we do here in our college now, regardless if it’s engineering, math, computer science or engineering technology. They’re getting jobs, they’re becoming employed, employers are seeing the fruits of the labor that are being, you know, sewn here at WT and then they’re able to go out and pretty much represent us well and that brings in more students,” said Butler.

WTAMU now having degree options in six different programs being the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, College of Education and Social Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Engineering and the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts Humanities.

“I just heard about the school. It sounded like a good program for me to get into, which is something that attracted me,” said Blake Yanish engineering major I plan on doing mechanical [engineering] but that might change in the future.”
With this type of event taking place, putting into circulation not only success for students in this program now but as well as for the future of this university for years to come, with a mindset on progression and moving forward, it is a great time to be a Buff.