By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
Globe Staff Writer
PITTSBURG, Kan. —
Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson made the automotive technology department in the Kansas Technology Center at Pittsburg State University one of his stops Monday.
Parkinson said his foremost purpose was checking progress the university has made on a challenge he issued a year ago.
“I spoke to the (Kansas Board of) Regents a year ago and challenged each of our university campuses to develop a strategic plan, to set a course for the future,” said Parkinson. “My point a year ago was that I felt our universities were drifting in their missions, and I encouraged them to apply the same tools that businesses use.”
Parkinson said after the tour and after meeting with Steve Scott, PSU president, that he is “pleased with the progress” PSU is making.
“To really improve your ranking as a university, you must improve your retention rate, your graduation rate, and you have to improve the overall academic quality of your programs,” Parkinson said. “President Scott is looking at each of those areas of measurement and developing a plan for each of them.”
Of interest to both men Monday was the automotive technology department.
Automotive professors Roger Adams and Trent Lindbloom spent a few minutes with Parkinson and Scott discussing a recent $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to bolster faculty education in the area of hybrid technology.
Adams also shared with the governor the finer points of a hybrid engine, and gave an overview of the relationships he’s cultivating with PSU graduates who already are working in the automotive industry.
Parkinson said he was impressed.
“This is fun for me. ... I learned here today that Pitt State is poised for the next generation of modern vehicles,” Parkinson said, adding that he believes hybrid vehicles will one day penetrate the market in a much greater way than what the public might expect.
