Utah engineering school gets $1.5 million gift

EnergySolutions Foundation and the university announced the donation Monday. The gift will support an endowed chair and expand research facilities in the College of Engineering, which is home to one of just 29 nuclear engineering programs in the U.S.

The college's director of development Marilyn K. Davies says the gift will allow the university to recruit a nationally recognized leader to a tenured position.

Engineering enrollment is climbing, but educators say they still have to work to get young students interested in engineering careers.

Dean of the engineering school Richard B. Brown says engineers often snatch up the highest-paying jobs after graduation. He says he's the college, which has access to a teaching and research reactor will soon offer a minor in nuclear engineering.