Congressman Joe Neguse, far left, watches a demonstration of a jet engine during his March 25 visit to CSU. To his left are Wade Troxell, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Lab Support Engineer Steve Johnson.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who recently helped secure a $1 million federal appropriation for a new mechanical engineering partnership between Colorado State University and Adams State University, toured CSU engineering labs on March 25 to see firsthand the types of equipment and facilities that the funding will support at the Alamosa campus.
In the partnership, finalized last year, Adams State students will be able to enroll in an accredited bachelor’s degree program from CSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, being offered in its entirety on the Alamosa campus starting in Fall 2022. The partnership gives San Luis Valley students the chance to earn a Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering degree at their local institution, opening new doors for them and attracting a larger swath of students to become part of the Ram engineering community.
Neguse announced the $1 million appropriation on March 15, saying it is part of $7 million in federal funding he secured for community projects in the 2nd Congressional District, which he represents.
Photos by Russell Dickerson
Jet engine demo
The March 25 tour, which was led by Lab Support Engineer Steve Johnson, began with a demonstration of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering’s new jet engine, which was set up outdoors on the north side of the building. The group also visited several hands-on labs in the lower level of the Engineering Building.
Accompanying Neguse on the tour was Provost and Executive Vice President Mary Pederson, mechanical engineering department head Christian Puttlitz and Ken Reardon, the college’s associate dean for research. Also in attendance were mechanical engineering student Evan Ronzone and former Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell, an associate professor in mechanical engineering.
“This is something that’s in the best interest of both the University and the state,” Neguse told the group, referring to the new partnership. “So kudos to all of you for doing this. Most universities would say, ‘You know what? We’re not going to spend our resources and our time on an endeavor like this’. But CSU is not like most universities.”
During the tour, Johnson showed the variety of techniques that mechanical engineering students are exposed to during their education, “so that when they run into it during their careers in five or 10 years, they know what it is.”
Photos by Russell Dickerson
Grateful for leadership
Neguse lauded the partnership because it expands educational opportunities in an underserved area of Colorado.
“I’m grateful to Colorado State University for showing the leadership necessary to start this kind of program,” he said. “From our perspective, it’s a great example of a way in which different regions of our state can work together, collaboratively, to ensure that more students have an opportunity to succeed. And that’s getting a quality college degree at CSU, one of our state’s flagship universities, irrespective of whether they happen to be in Fort Collins or not.”
Neguse added that the partnership will yield economic benefits as well.
“Having spent a lot of time in the southern part of our state, in Alamosa and the San Luis Valley and Trinidad, I just think this program is going to have immediate benefits for the students down there,” he said. “And ultimately, the economic impacts that will rebound across the region will certainly benefit that part of our state, and our state more broadly. I’m just excited to see the money start to flow to the program so that they can start building out all of the laboratory equipment and facilities that we saw today.”
Photo by Jeff Dodge
