National Society of Black Engineers Awarded $2.9M

WASHINGTON D.C. – In an effort to increase the diversity of engineering faculty, the National Science Foundation awarded $2.9 Million to the following leading national engineering diversity organizations: Great Minds in STEM (GMiS), American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), MAES: Latinos in Science and Engineering , National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), SACNAS: Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE). This collaborative research project, titled ASSIST: Strengthening Engineering Faculty through Diversity Serving Professional Organization Engagement, is a historic first step toward long-term collaboration between the organizations. The establishment of this collaborative infrastructure between these organizations will result in the design, implementation and evaluation of a model for effectively increasing the number of underrepresented engineering faculty across all institutional types.

The lack of diversity in the engineering is well documented. According to data collected by the American Society for Engineering Education, the percentage of Hispanic tenure track faculty actually declined from 2012 to 2013, from 3.9 percent to 3.6 percent. During that same period, the number of African American faculty also declined from 2.7 percent to 2.6 percent.1

“Over the next four years, ASSIST will establish a network of diverse early-career faculty, and will empower their success in securing their futures as valuable contributors to the engineering professoriate,” states Anna Park, CEO and Board Member of Great Minds in STEM and PI on this grant.

The grant will support traditionally underrepresented engineering early-career faculty, post-doctoral professionals, and doctoral students interested in academic careers, with travel awards so they can attend professional development programming.  Each organization, at their respective national conferences, will host subject matter experts, focused on cultural identity, promotion and tenure, funding, and student engagement/learning.  Offering these workshops at each organization’s national conference provides opportunities for these participants to engage with STEM professional in corporate America, government, national laboratories as well as colleagues from other institutions, allowing them to share and learn together, and prepare them to become successful engineering faculty.

“SWE is excited to be able to provide the grant so eligible attendees can participate as well as the opportunity to build a much more comprehensive academic program,” states Peter Finn,  Deputy Director, Chief Learning Officer of Society of Women Engineers.

The joint efforts will create a critical mass of engaged, diverse scholars who can innovate ideas for increasing interest in doctoral education. It is a means to highlight the presence of underrepresented scholars strategically in a venue with a built-in audience of emerging underrepresented engineers. The presence of faculty, post-doctoral students, and doctoral students at these national diversity conferences will also greatly benefit undergraduate and pre-college students who attend these same conferences by having an opportunity to interact with these role models.