Ham to Chair Newly Created University Department
/Starting in the fall of 2026, students at Western Washington University will be able to enrol in programs in the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and pursue studies in the school's first engineering graduate program. The courses were previously housed within the school's Department of Engineering and Design.
The Zero Retries Newsletter, which reports the development in its latest edition, said that Janelle Leger, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, credited student and industry demand as the primary reasons for the creation of a new department. She said the move is being made with support from the state to create the degree programs. Majors will select from four programs, which include wireless networking and signal processing focus, as well as AI, electronics and energy.
The professor chairing the new department is Andy Klein. On the university website, the professor writes that having a standalone department will pave the way to creating partnerships and internships with companies and generate more internships for students. Andy Klein is an amateur radio operator who received the callsign KG7WFT in July.
This is the latest in a series of recent recognitions by higher education that ham radio - and hams - have a place in the college curriculum. Carnegie Mellon University in the US incorporates amateur radio into its curriculum through elective courses covering technical, regulatory, and cultural aspects of the hobby.
