NNS funding helps launch ODU engineering program

Newport News Shipbuilding will be the lead industry sponsor of Old Dominion University’s program to graduate more engineers, the two organizations announced Tuesday.

NNS, a division of Newport News-based Fortune 500 military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, will make a five-year financial commitment to the Monarch Accelerator Program to Engineering (MAP-to-E), ODU’s program to increase its number of full-time engineering and engineering technology majors and graduates,  particularly from underrepresented and underserved communities in Hampton Roads, enrolled in the public university. The university declined to provide the amount of the gift, citing NNS company policy.

The donation allows the university to launch MAP-to-E in fall 2024, according to a statement from Kenneth Fridley, dean of the Batten College of Engineering and Technology and interim vice president for research. After five years, ODU can request another five-year gift to support the program and potentially expand it.

NNS says it plans to hire more than 300 entry-level engineers in the next 12 months, so the program will ultimately benefit the shipbuilder. Currently, ODU graduates comprise more than 22% of its engineering workforce.

“As we grow our already strong partnership with Old Dominion University, the MAP-to-E program is a logical extension of that work,” Dave Bolcar, NNS vice president of engineering and design, said in a statement. “We’re designing and building the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy at NNS, and we can’t wait to welcome more ODU students to that important national security mission.”

MAP-to-E works as an “academic redshirt program” for students who need more math education before they major in engineering. According to Fridley, MAP-to-E students will take two math classes before taking calculus, which is part of the engineering major.

“MAP-to-E will provide academic support, career preparation for early internship and co-op opportunities, and direct financial support for these students,” Fridley said. “Therefore, the MAP-to-E program aims to promote student success and development while also supporting students so that they do not accrue additional debt during their first year. Now to the redshirting analogy:  The MAP-to-E program is designed to welcome these students onto the ‘team’ while recognizing they need a little more ‘coaching’ to have them ready to succeed in engineering.”

The program will be cohort-based, and ODU’s initial goal is up to 20 students in the first cohort, according to Fridley.

“These are largely talented students with unrealized potential who have the ability, aptitude and desire to be successful in engineering or engineering technology but have not had the opportunity to take the necessary math and science classes while in high school,” Fridley said in a statement.

NNS has previously donated funds to ODU, partnering with the school in 2019 to establish the NNS Scholars program. Between 10 and 20 ODU junior, senior and graduate students majoring in programs related to engineering analytics, information technology and computer sciences receive scholarships of up to $5,000 annually. For the first five years, a yearly donation from NNS funded the scholarships, but beginning in 2024, an HII-endowed fund will become the source of funding.

Newport News-based HII is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder and Virginia’s largest industrial employer, with approximately 43,000 employees. Newport News Shipbuilding is the United States’ only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier manufacturer.

Located in Norfolk, ODU is a four-year public university with an R1 ranking. It has more than 23,000 students.