Editor’s note: Louis A. Martin-Vega, Ph.D., is Dean of Engineering at N.C. State University. WRAL TechWire welcomed feedback from NCSU after the WalletHub report we published a story about earlier this month. After being informed that the WalletHub was missing some crucial information, that story was corrected. What follows is Dr. Martin-Vega’s reaction to the original story.
RALEIGH – Many of our College of Engineering faculty and staff members, students, alumni and area industry partners were surprised to read a story on WRAL TechWire published Jan. 9 about a WalletHub ranking of the Best and Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals.
Dr. Louis Martin-Vega
The Raleigh metro area ranking was undercut by its lack of a quality engineering university, according to the rankings. We immediately knew that wasn’t true. The authors of the study used US News & World Report rankings of top graduate engineering programs and somehow completely missed NC State’s strong national ranking. The mistake has since been fixed by WalletHub, and TechWire, to its credit, updated the story.
The reality is that Raleigh has been recognized in several studies as a great area for STEM professionals, and our college is one of the key reasons why. Each year, NC State Engineering produces more than 2,000 graduates who are ready to contribute to the state and national economy in a variety of fields.
Let’s start with those US News rankings. In the latest graduate engineering school rankings, NC State ranks 24th nationally and 12th among all public institutions. That is a testament to our strength in research, fed by the excellence of our faculty members and students.
According to American Society for Engineering Education data, our research expenditures in 2016-17 placed us among the top 10 colleges of engineering in the country. Those expenditures, from funding chiefly provided by private industry and the federal government, contribute significantly to the state and local economy. It is seen in employment, spending on equipment and supplies and the creation of new knowledge that leads to inventions, patent applications and licenses. It is also seen in the spin-off companies born out of our classrooms and laboratories and nurtured by NC State’s commitment to entrepreneurship education. Five startup companies and 122 patents came out of the college in fiscal year 2017 alone.
The college leads 24 research centers, institutes and laboratories including two National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers (ERC). NC State is one of only two engineering schools nationally to lead two ERCs at the same time and one of only two schools to ever take the lead role in three.
At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, our college is filling the needs of STEM-area employers both in the Triangle and across North Carolina. We are in the top 12 nationally in the number of B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees awarded annually.
The college supports the Raleigh area’s leading local STEM-based companies including Red Hat, SAS and IBM with well-trained graduates who can hit the ground running. Our graduates have been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as some of most sought-after in the country.
Those of us who live in Raleigh know it’s the best place in the country to live and to work in a STEM-field profession. The College of Engineering at NC State is proud to play an important role in keeping it that way.
