The Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) Council today approved the Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ of Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ System’s request of $9.5 million of state funding for workforce and research initiatives to be dispersed among its nine member institutions.
The UL System had approved UL Lafayette’s plan for spending about $2 million of WISE funds last month. The university would receive a total investment of more than $3.3 million, with $1.3 million coming from private funds.
Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ of Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ System President Sandra K. Woodley presented the campus plans. Universities were required to match a minimum of 20 percent of the funding from a business partner. UL Lafayette committed to match 66 percent with private monies.
“I am particularly proud of the high level of private industry support that will go towards new faculty and staff positions, scholarships, technology upgrades, and incentivizing research," said Woodley.
UL Lafayette would use the WISE funds to provide more faculty and resources.
New hires would include two faculty positions and a recruitment and retention coordinator in School of Computing and Informatics, a petroleum engineering assistant professor, and two instructors each for engineering and nursing programs.
New scholarships would provide undergraduate and graduate stipends and assistantships to up to a dozen computer science Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵs, a dozen engineering Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵs, and a half a dozen nursing Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵs. Instructional and research laboratories in engineering and computer science would be enhanced, too.
Pending final approval by the Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Board of Regents, the university can move forward with plans to grow Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ enrollment and graduates in high-demand workforce fields as outlined in its .