SHPE - Winter 2009 - (Page 40)

LOCAL HERO ❚ UC Merced’s Jeff Wright By Carole Jablon-Bernardi our emphasis on Hispanic student recruitment in engineering here at UC Merced, starting a SHPE chapter was at the top of my list,” Wright said. Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, Founding Chancellor at UC Merced, continues to support Wright’s impact on diversity in engineering, and on campus. “From his first days, Jeff insisted that the curriculum must be welcoming to women and all minorities,” she said. “Recruiting students of color into engineering is difficult enough; the fact that our country is losing more than half of its undergraduate engineering students through attrition is a real shame. Wright learned through his service on a National Academy of Engineering national task force that providing students with hands-on exposure to engineering problem-solving from the outset of one’s career can help.” Wright brought with him from Purdue the highly successful Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program with the goal of keeping this new crop of engineering students engaged in hands-on engineering activities from the very beginning of their education. This program, which embraces a learn-by-doing philosophy, is indeed one of Dean Wright’s proudest contributions to building a curriculum that will promote student retention. It keeps students engaged in engineering fields as part of their educational experience, and does so where their talents are urgently needed. The core of this philosophy is seen throughout the School’s Foster Family Center for Engineering Service Learning, where students have an opportunity to work with and for an approved community nonprofit organization or client to solve practical engi- A Career Building Diversity in Engineering Education A s the first American research university established in the 21st century, the University of California, Merced, is providing students with hands-on exposure to engineering problem-solving from the very beginning of their curriculum. For Jeff Wright, Dean of Engineering, the approach holds promise of increasing retention and graduation rates, especially among underrepresented minorities. As a child growing up in Spokane, Washington, Jeff Wright built his scholarship dreams on a football field as opposed to an engineering lab. During his freshman year at the University of Washington, Wright found himself halfway across the world in Stockholm, Sweden, with a United StatesUnited Nations Delegation attending the first Conference on Human Environment. Then, the proverbial engineering light bulb went off. Working with heavyweights like Margaret Mead and Paul Ehrlich was a life-changing experience that caused him to switch gears and reach for a goal in a different sport altogether. Waiting in the wings at UW was Wright’s first mentor, Brian Mar, a professor at the School of Civil Engineering. He taught Wright the “engineering systems approach to problem solving,” a philosophy that spearheaded Wright’s doctoral work at the Johns Hopkins University (1977). That led to the start of an impressive professional career, first at Purdue University as the Associate Dean for Research & Professor of Civil Engineering, and then to his present role as Founding Dean of Engineering at UC Merced (as of September 2001). It wasn’t until his years at Purdue that diversity became a personal priority. Despite its conservative, white male reputation, Purdue had leaders committed to diversity. “Women staff members like Marion Blalock, instrumental in the founding of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and Jane Daniels, then Woman in Engineering Program Director and a national leader in recruiting and retaining women into engineering, really were the ones who taught me about diversity.” One of the opportunities that drew Wright to UC Merced was creating an engineering program with diversity, representation and inclusiveness at its core to its mission. “The diversity of the Central Valley of California is remarkable, and we want this university, and especially its engineering program, to reflect that diversity,” he explained. “As the only research university in this region, we have the opportunity to shape the careers of a very large number of first-generation college graduates, and what better way to have such an impact than through engineering? Key to our success in this regard is building a remarkably diverse engineering faculty as well.” It was at Purdue where Wright first experienced the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, having participated regularly in its academic and social activities as a faculty member, and later as a member of the dean’s staff. Although the chapter at Purdue was small compared with some of their other student professional organizations, Wright knew that once he became dean at UC Merced, SHPE would be one of its very first professional student organizations. “With By keeping students engaged in engineering fields where their talents are urgently needed, Dean Wright’s ‘service learning’ program hopes to increase retention and graduation rates at UC Merced. 40 SHPE ❘ Winter 2009 Photo by Roger J. Wyan

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Winter 2009

SHPE - Winter 2009 Contents President's Letter Browser Calendar Professional Chapter Leaders - Providing the Right Resources at the Right Time Closing the Expectation Gap - Summit Addresses ‘Diploma to Nowhere’ Conference 2008 A Career Building Diversity in Engineering Education Graduate STEM Degrees Extend Technical Reach Programs & Services Inner Circle Employer Profile Regional Roundup Annual Report Advertisers Index

SHPE - Winter 2009

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