New name for technology studies department at FHSU

2/2/2013

By JUDY SHERARD

jsherard@dailynews.net

The Fort Hays State University Department of Technology Studies has a new name.

It's now the Institute of Applied Technology.

Similar to the Technology Studies Department, the institute will continue to be housed in the College of Education and Technology.

The institute concept allows a broader scope, including technical education collaboration with two-year institutions, corporate partnerships and international partnerships, FHSU President Edward H. Hammond said at a Friday news conference.

The name provides an identity for technology education and will establish the program as a leader nationally and internationally, he said.

It will function as an academic department offering courses, as well as online partnerships with businesses and educational institutions.

"As things change, we've also had to change our name," said Kim Stewart, interim chairman and a member of the former Technology Studies Department faculty. "I believe ... we got it right."

Creating the institute was inspired, in part, by Gov. Sam Brownback's initiative to encourage careers in technology, and is part of preparing students to be workforce ready.

"In Kansas, we still have high-school labs and middle-school labs that are very traditional," Stewart said. "We also have those becoming high-tech. FHSU has a rich tradition in both of those avenues."

The university is establishing a new partnership with a Chinese University in Shanghai this year, Hammond said.

"Within a year, I suspect that we will have a dozen or two students from China that will be studying here in this program because of the changes you and your faculty have made," he said.

"We think the institute approach provides an umbrella for all the education possibilities in applied technology," Stewart said.