SHPE - Winter 2009 - (Page 41)

neering problems. Students gain experience in working in teams, organizing/writing reports and proposals, interacting with clients, evaluating engineering designs and formally evaluating outcomes while earning formal course credits each semester. It’s one thing to launch a diversity organization like SHPE, and it’s another to keep it sustainable and thriving. Dean Wright has been very effective in obtaining other sources of funding to support the student recruitment and retention efforts of the school, including a recent $1 million gift from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. His visibility and impact is reflected by his regular participation in SHPE’s social and professional activities and his support of its leaders. “His impact has been substantial,” said Gerardo Diaz, Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Faculty Advisor to SHPEUC Merced. “Our fraction of minority students is higher than any other UC campus. And our retention rate is the best among the system and the number of graduates is growing consistently. Also, the percentage of minorities present in the faculty has no parallel in any other UC campus.” There has never been a better time to focus on how engineering education will play a role in the future. Genuine concerns related to the aging U.S. infrastructure and demand for renewable energy confirm Dean Wright’s belief that America desperately needs a higher percentage of its student population going into STEM fields. “To solve the increasingly complex problems facing society, we need more students of all populations to consider careers in science and engineering, and to do that we must reach them in grade school to ignite their interest and help them keep focused on math preparation,” Wright said. “It’s sobering to learn that in some areas of this country, fewer than 50 percent of students entering high school will graduate, let alone pursue technical careers. We risk losing our comparative technical advantage to countries that are aggressively boosting their technical education and infrastructure.” Wright is confident that the groundwork SHPE has established will open new doors for his students. “By supporting SHPE student involvement in regional and national professional meetings and activities, we increase their retention and entry into the engineering profession,” he said. “Our chapter will soon be sponsoring a SHPE Ambassador’s Program that will support our students conducting outreach liaisons back to their community schools.” As the first American research university www.SHPE.org ❘ Winter 2009 established in the 21st Century, UC Merced’s School of Engineering embraces its mandate to anticipate the future and not mirror the past … fostering rich approaches to complex and multidimensional social problems and better solutions to the serious engineering challenges facing the world today. One could say that Wright’s role was all due to coincidence. Perhaps he never would have become an advocate for diversity if he’d stayed on the football field. Instead, he has enhanced the UC Merced School of Engineering’s greatest strength, making it among the most diverse faculty and student bodies of engineering in the nation. “The climate for faculty, students and staff must be equally welcoming to all genders and cultures,” Wright said. “We are fortunate to be an exciting new part of a university and university system that values diversity throughout every aspect of the engineering experience.” It sounds like Wright’s coincidence of fate equals that of any Pac 10 Championship title. ■ 41 http://www.pbsj.com http://www.pbsj.com http://www.SHPE.org

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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.