Orange City, Iowa — A major previously unavailable to students at one Sioux County institution of higher learning will now be available.
Northwestern College officials tell us they are developing an engineering major, and hope to offer it in a little more than a year.
They tell us that Northwestern has hired someone they call “a distinguished engineering educator with experience in administration, teaching and research on three continents” to develop a new undergraduate engineering program that is set to launch, following accreditor approval, in the fall of 2024.
They say Dr. Young-Ji Byon will begin his role as the founding director of Northwestern’s engineering program in July, casting its vision, structuring the curriculum, hiring faculty, designing classroom and lab spaces, leading accreditation processes, and providing oversight. We’re told Byon is the associate chair of the department of civil infrastructure and environmental engineering at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a top-100 engineering university. He helped launch the university’s civil engineering programs and led its efforts to secure ABET accreditation.
Northwestern says their program will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Engineering concentrations currently being considered include mechanical, civil, computer, and electrical. The program will be designed to achieve ABET accreditation, for which it would be eligible upon graduation of the first cohort in 2028. Regulatory approval for the program is pending with the Higher Learning Commission.
