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MESA to Governor: We can help fill California’s engineering shortage In December Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a press release that called attention to the projected shortage of engineers in California, and announcing a new initiative to bring approximately 20,000 new engineers to the state over the next decade. We believe that MESA can make a valuable contribution to the governor’s efforts. Here is a copy of a letter sent to the governor from David Morse, chair of the MESA Statewide Board of Directors, and myself. January 8, 2008 Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: We were very excited and pleased to read the recent press release on your plan to address the state’s engineering and technology workforce needs. We applaud your willingness to take action, particularly in the midst of such difficult budget times for our state. The challenges are clear and the need for decisive action is compelling. For example: In addition to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s projection of a state shortfall of almost 40,000 engineers by 2014, the California Council on Science and Technology noted that in 2001, some 14,000 California jobs requiring science or engineering degrees went unfilled. This lack of preparation in science and technology already threatens California’s ability to compete in the global economy.
California-based Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) would like to support your initiative and help it succeed. We have received national recognition for our ability to academically prepare students from educationally disadvantaged circumstances to become tomorrow’s engineers and scientists. We currently serve over 20,000 California students at elementary schools, middle and senior high schools, the California Community Colleges, the CSU, UC and independent colleges and universities. We are one of only a handful of programs in the country to address the needs of the technology workforce throughout the entire continuum of academic preparation. Fifty-four percent of our pre-college students become engineering, science or math majors in college. Ninety-nine percent of our community college students transfer to four-year institutions as engineering, science or math majors. MESA’s success is the reason that so many industry leaders sit on our Board of Directors, along with representatives from all segments of California education. Our program has been replicated in 13 other states as a model for the preparation of future engineers and scientists. Despite our success in academically preparing tomorrow’s engineering and technology workforce, MESA has experienced tremendous difficulty in attaining sufficient funding. Under the previous governor, MESA’s budget (and that of many other academic preparation programs) was cut by 53 percent and our funding level has remained static ever since, forcing us to cut services and reduce the number of students served. Our budget is embedded in a broad category of programs (called UC Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships) so often it is difficult to recognize that MESA is among this large number of programs. We know that your office has had concerns about SAPEP, which has led to numerous proposals to eliminate this category of programs. However, we have the greatest confidence that MESA, whose demonstrated success has resulted in tremendous support from California industry, can withstand the highest level of scrutiny. And we remain unshakable in our belief that, with additional and stable funding, MESA can make a major contribution to your goal of bringing approximately 20,000 new engineers into California's workforce over the next decade. We would be very interested to discuss ways that we can work together. We greatly appreciate your determination to tackle our state’s urgent engineering and technology workforce challenge. MESA stands ready to partner with you to achieve this goal. Sincerely,
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