Y-12 Employees Awarded Master’s in Engineering Management Through College of Engineering Program

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Kevin Bogle

Eight employees at Y-12 National Security Complex earned Masters degrees in industrial engineering with a concentration in engineering management through the University of Tennessee Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) in December of 2013.

The Y-12 degree recipients are Julie Cramer, Kevin Cress, Marvin Lowery, Uvalde Mendez, David Mosby, Carl Quinn, Drew VanDeGriff, and Syreeta Vaughn. Two additional graduates, Ryan Hickey and Sophia Kassam, work for B&W and TechmerPM, respectively.

Students pursuing this degree complete the sixteen-course, four-semester program as an ensemble, attending all-day Friday classes not held on the university campus. Y-12 covers the semester costs, which, including books and fees, comes to about $8,000 per student. Course content is designed to support the needs of Y-12’s work environment, and some Y-12 employees serve as adjunct professors in the program.

Student Uvalde Mendez said, “This program was challenging but provided a solid foundation for future career opportunities. Leadership and management principles were fused with business financial concepts. I enjoyed applying my military background with project management to solve problems and improve processes. The most rewarding part of the course was being surrounded by an incredibly talented group of peers.”

“This particular program is one of the success stories of the Y-12/University of Tennessee Partnership,” reported Debbie Reed, Y-12’s UT liaison director. “But setting up the program was the easy part. Being a nontraditional student isn’t easy. Anyone who works full-time and still has the discipline and drive to take on college studies deserves special recognition. Putting in a 4/10 work week and then taking another full day of classes—along with doing the homework that comes with those classes—that’s a lot of extra effort.”

“The graduates of the University of Tennessee’s Industrial Engineering-Engineering Management graduate program in Oak Ridge represent an outstanding cross section of some of the best employees at Y-12,” added Y-12 manager of academic partnerships Ben Stephens. “The collective network of the graduates offers Y-12 the opportunity for increased efficiency and intellectual agility across departments and divisions. Graduates from this program are leaders with great futures, and Y-12 has a golden opportunity to benefit from their continued development as leaders.”