NSBE - Fall 2012 - (Page 18)

NsBE NEWS NSBE and ExxonMobil reward retention ‘Impact’ By simone Thomas at the second annual impact awards, in washington, d.c.: (left to right) carl b. Mack, executive director, national society of black engineers; kathy Zerda, Ph.d., ProMes director, university of houston; tamara n. hamilton, lsaMP Program director, university of Maryland, college Park; theodore caldwell, director/ assistant to the dean for diversity, Michigan state university; and kenny warren, vice President of engineering, exxonMobil (april 18, 2012) T he young men who founded the National Society of Black Engineers in 1975 were motivated by a single desire: to retain more black students in U.S. college engineering programs, from freshman year through graduation. Through the decades, NSBE has remained focused on that main goal. This past spring, in Washington, D.C., NSBE and ExxonMobil honored Michigan State University, the University of Houston and the University of Maryland, College Park for their outstanding work in retaining underrepresented minority students in their schools’ engineering programs. The event, the Second Annual Impact Awards, was held at the Carnegie Institution for Science, on April 18. The awards — $10,000 to each institution — were presented by NSBE Executive Director Carl B. Mack and by Kenny Warren, vice president of engineering for ExxonMobil. Michigan State University offers the Diversity Programs Office “Scholars Program” (DPO-SP), which provides structure for students during their first two years. This early focus has allowed MSU to attain 78 percent graduation rates among the DPO-SP cohorts. Through its Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies (PROMES), the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering seeks to close the gaps between different groups of students in participation and success in science, technology, engineering and math fields. PROMES supports the academic success of UH engineering students with introductory courses, mentoring, and learn- ing workshops. It also reaches middle and high school students with targeted outreach events and a summer engineering camp. Over the past five years, PROMES has improved the end-of-year grade point average of its UH freshman cohort from 2.7 to 3.11. The University of Maryland, College Park’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program enrolls freshmen in course work in LSAMP’s Bridge program before their first semester, to increase the quantity and quality of students receiving baccalaureate degrees in science and engineering. Over the past 10 years, retention rates of Bridge students after three years at the university have ranged from 78 percent to 100 percent, and six-year graduation rates have ranged from 67 percent to 88 percent, which is substantially higher than the rates for their nonBridge peers. “NSBE salutes these outstanding academic institutions for their success in keeping black, Latino and other underrepresented minority students in engineering,” says Mack. “There is an urgent need for more skilled workers in science, technology, engineering and math fields: the United States cannot afford to continue losing two-thirds of these students to other majors, as it is doing now. These universities are among the few that not only understand the urgency of solving the retention problem in engineering but are also creative and determined in coming up with solutions.” ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of the Impact Awards is only one aspect of the company’s longstanding collaboration with NSBE. The oil and gas corporation is also a member of the Board of Corporate Affiliates, NSBE’s top-level sponsors. Suzanne McCarron, general manager of public and government affairs for Exxon Mobil Corporation, says, “ExxonMobil is proud to partner with NSBE to recognize the outstanding efforts of universities nationwide in identifying, mentoring, retaining and graduating the next generation of talented engineers.” ■ www.nsbe.org 18 • nsbe magazine • fall 2012 http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - Fall 2012

NSBE - Fall 2012
Contents
Lead by Example
Come Correct!
Kola Fagbayi of Shell
The Programs Zone
Veronica Davis Honored as White House ‘Champion’
A Catalyst for Change
NSBE and ExxonMobil Reward Retention ‘Impact’
Dr. Baratunde Cola Earns Presidential Research Award
Regional News
In the Lead
At the Vanguard
Staying Connected in Today’s Business World
Back to Indiana
NSBE Calendar
Seek 2012: An Experience Worth the Ride
The PDC Is Coming Soon, to Dallas!
The Professional’s Perspective
The Space SIG Lifts Off
CE Cover: Status:FALSE
Alumni Officers
Biggest and Best
What’s in a Name?
AE National and Regional Websites
Advertisers Index

NSBE - Fall 2012