Ole Miss program prepares students for high-level employment
In 2010 a new college opened at the University of Mississippi and had its first graduates in 2014. It’s the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME). It’s the only program of its kind in the nation.
“The CME program is dedicated to educating students, supporting industry, and driving economic growth through innovative manufacturing education,” said Scott Kilpatrick, PhD. and executive director and instructional assistant. “With a cross-disciplinary approach, the CME integrates engineering, business, and accountancy to develop servant-leaders equipped for the challenges of modern manufacturing.”
With the motto Imagine, Innovate, Create, Inspire, the CME attracts student from diverse backgrounds. Elizabeth Shirley of Wesson said, “I’m an accounting major developing creativity at CME. It’s a community; we all get together to work on our projects.”
“As soon as I stepped into the CME, I knew this was where I wanted to be for the next four years,” said Byron Swetman of Vancleave, a computer science major.
“The CME offers interdisciplinary educational opportunities within a unique academic learning model that provides students with the practical experiences, fundamental knowledge, and creative practices needed to be servant-leaders in the world of modern manufacturing,” said Kilpatrick.
Their competitive admissions program consists of a minor/emphasis in manufacturing. “We typically have students pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering, business, or accounting while also completing our minor,” said Kilpatrick. “Students learn about topics such as manufacturing processes, supply chain and operations, lean manufacturing and continuous improvement, accounting and finance for manufacturing.”
There’s a new Operations Leadership endorsement for students who are not admitted into the selective admissions manufacturing minor. These students can take up to nine credit hours in various CME topics. Also new is the CME’s Extension Services initiative which currently provides support to manufacturing companies in the state. “In the coming years, we look forward to launching our new graduate level certificate program as well,” said Kilpatrick.
The CME’s manufacturing minor is a competitive admission program. “We go through a rigorous process of selecting students for the minor. Typically, we admit up to 60 undergraduate students for our freshmen cohort each year,” said Kilpatrick. “These admitted students are very high-achieving but also show great potential as future servant-leaders. For Ole Miss students that were not admitted to the program as freshmen, there is also a sophomore entry pathway as well. With all of our cohorts (freshmen and seniors) we have approximately 275 students pursuing the undergraduate minor in manufacturing.”
The program is interdisciplinary in nature bringing together students majoring in engineering, business, or accountancy who are taught the common language of manufacturing centered upon continuous improvement.
“The CME was structured this way based on feedback from leaders in industry. The idea is to replicate the role that cross-functional teams play in the everyday operations of manufacturing. This gives our students an understanding and appreciation for the value of teamwork in accomplishing the goals of an organization,” said Kilpatrick.
The CME takes a different approach to teaching students about modern manufacturing. ‘The interdisciplinary approach is certainly a key element, but we are also very grounded in learning through experience,” Kilpatrick points out. “The CME facility houses a 12,000-square- foot factory floor with a variety of manufacturing equipment.”
Industry is a key educational partner. “We could not accomplish our goals of educating a professional workforce without the support of Mississippi manufacturers,” he said. “Our program consists of a series of three lean manufacturing classes that take place at industry locations.
“In recent years, these experiential classes have been conducted at industry locations from the Gulf Coast to Central Mississippi, the Delta and across the northern part of the state. These intensive courses allow students to practice the skills they have learned by solving real problems in an actual manufacturing setting which benefits our students and also our industry partners. These classes are also wonderful recruiting opportunities for companies to highlight career pathways within their companies. Having students spend extended time in these companies and communities has certainly been a wonderful way to expose our students to the wealth of manufacturing jobs that Mississippi has to offer.”
The classes in the CME program are evolving to stay current with the landscape of manufacturing. “We have added an advanced manufacturing course that will launch this fall, and it will incorporate many elements of the emerging technology that is shaping the future of industry,” said Kilpatrick. “We want to make sure that our students are familiar with many of the more common applications found in facilities around the country but also have an understanding of developing trends and how to be adaptable to accomplish the goals of their organization.”
With graduates pursuing a wide variety of careers related to industry, CME students are high-achieving and have no trouble finding employment. “The job offer rate for our graduates seeking employment is typically at or near 100 percent,” said Kilpatrick. “Many of these students find employment in Mississippi or across the country. Those jobs could range from working in areas such as manufacturing engineering, operations, supply chain/logistics, product design, product quality, technical sales, finance positions, and accounting.”
Typically about 97 percent of CME students complete an internship or co-op during their time at Ole Miss. Grant funds through AccelerateMS and the Hearin Foundation provide these summer interns with employment at small-to-medium-sized manufacturers in Mississippi.
“These students are placed at no charge to the industry hosts,” said Kilpatrick, “and these job placements allow students to gain critical work experience. The companies can benefit from the efforts of the students as well. We are thrilled when our students can take part in this type of work.”
Through his interactions with various industries in all corners of the state, Kilpatrick is impressed with the work that people in state communities are doing. “We produce great products with many playing a key role in our lives from sources of transportation, to providing the daily tools or products we use, and to defending our nation,” he said. “It gives me a great sense of pride that the CME can be part of supporting the excellent ecosystem that bolsters these efforts in our state.”