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ERWIN, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2017) – Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS), Erwin, Tennessee, a subsidiary of BWX Technologies, has made a $100,000 commitment to Milligan College’s new engineering program. The college will be adding the Nuclear Fuel Services name to one of its engineering labs.
“We are thrilled that NFS has expressed its confidence in our engineering program with this financial support,” said Milligan President Dr. Bill Greer. “Their commitment will help prepare new generations of well-rounded engineers for leadership and innovation in all sectors of the economy and who have a heart to serve.”
Milligan’s engineering program is a four-year program offered from the Milligan campus in Northeast Tennessee. It is the only such program within a two-hour radius of the Tri-Cities.
“NFS is proud to support Milligan’s new engineering program,” said Joel W. Duling, NFS President. “Milligan has a long and outstanding record of providing a high-quality education and attracting high-quality students. Numerous Milligan graduates work as a part of the NFS Team, and are well educated and ready to enter the workforce. In addition, their personal values and standards align with the high demands of the nuclear industry.”
Duling said, “The addition of the Engineering Program at Milligan will be of benefit to all of East Tennessee. This donation supports the start-up needs of this program as it heads into 2017.” Duling added, “The students in this program today will be our valued workforce of tomorrow, and it is our honor to be part of such a wonderful program.”
With mechanical and electrical engineering majors, Milligan’s program is designed to offer a well-rounded, competitive engineering education in the context of the Christian liberal arts.
This donation comes on the heels of other generous financial commitments from local companies like Eastman and TPI Corporation, where Milligan has established internships and co-op programs.
The college’s engineering program has assembled esteemed faculty including program director Dr. Greg Harrell, a former Virginia Tech professor who serves as the lead technical advisor for the United Nations and the U.S. Department of Energy; West Point professor and Navy veteran David Hampton, who will begin teaching engineering at Milligan in Fall 2017; and Dr. Jeffrey Giesey, associate dean at the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University, who will begin teaching at Milligan in Fall 2017, as well.
NFS operates a uranium fuel materials production facility to support America’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. It also converts Cold War-era government stockpiles of highly enriched uranium into material suitable for further processing into commercial nuclear reactor fuel. For more information, visit www.nuclearfuelservices.com.
The Milligan engineering majors have been reviewed and approved by the college’s regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Milligan also will seek accreditation from ABET, whose accreditation standards the college’s engineering program has been designed to meet. In addition, Milligan’s engineering faculty are experienced and seasoned academicians who have been core faculty members in ABET-accredited programs. Local industry leaders already are endorsing the program and ready to offer internships and co-ops, as well as hire Milligan engineering graduates. More information on ABET accreditation can be found on the ABET web site at www.abet.org.