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Ensuring Equity,
Widening the Pipeline
An interview with the director of the Center for Engineering Excellence
and Diversity
CEED Director, Rick Ainsworth |
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The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED) has been
committed to diversity in engineering for more than 20 years, delivering
programs that help educationally disadvantaged and underrepresented
students achieve success in math, science and engineering.
Earlier this year, Enrique Ainsworth, CEED director, received a
2006 Fair and Open Academic Environment Award from the UCLA Academic
Senate for his "contributions beyond the call of duty involving
auspicious success in furthering a fair, open, and diverse academic
environment at UCLA."
He talks more with UCLA Engineer about CEED's programs
and the need for outreach to underrepresented communities.
What is the purpose behind the Center
for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity?
CEED works with a community of partners to ensure equity and parity
in the K-20 pathways that lead to engineering and computing degrees.
We help develop leaders for California's diverse technical workforce.
California - if it were a country - has the eighth largest economy
in the world. The demographics in the state have changed considerably
since I joined CEED 15 years ago - if you look at the numbers, more
than 50 percent of the students enrolled K-12 are underrepresented
students - and they're the fastest growing segment of the population.
For the long-term economic strength of the country we need this
significant population to fully participate in science and engineering
.As we now know, of the 4,900 freshman entering UCLA this fall only
96 are African American students-a 33-year low. The number of Mexican
American students is also beginning to decline.
Given that the economic drivers for California are technology and
science, we cannot exclude more than 50 percent of the future workforce.
All of the major industries for the state, from agriculture to aerospace
and from entertainment to electronics, are driven by advancements
in engineering and the sciences. And these industries are well aware
of these shifts in populations in their customer base.
It is critical for university-level engineering programs to be involved
in the community - to serve as a source for explaining frontier
technologies and to engage teachers, students, and their parents.
We're committed to ensuring that young students are exposed to the
kind of technology they'll encounter 10 to 15 years down the road,
and have the chance to acquire a solid educational background in
science and mathematics.
Why are outreach and retention programs
for underserved populations important to the engineering field?
If you look at national data, only 38 of every 100 underrepresented
freshmen enrolling in an engineering program will finish - that
is a tremendous waste of talent. And California is a net importer
of technical workers, which means we're not spotting talent and
developing it in the numbers needed to serve companies in the state.
CEED's freshman cohort retention is close to ten percentage points
of the overall HSSEAS retention of 66%
The U.S. is holding on as the leader in technology and innovation,
but other countries are making significant improvements to their
technological infrastructure, and the global competition for talented
engineers is tremendous. If the U.S. is to retain its leadership
position, its best resource is growing the educated human capital
base.
We hear over and over that the more diverse a field the more creative
it becomes. To keep pace with other countries I believe the U.S.
will need to focus on creativity and innovation. And if we're going
to add large numbers of new engineers to the pool, they will have
to come from underserved groups.
How have the retention programs changed
over time?
One recent development is that we are leading several new regional
partnerships to increase participation in engineering and computing.
We have more than 20 years of success, so we're sharing what we've
learned with our colleagues in chemistry, physics, and mathematics,
and with our partners at community colleges and the Cal State universities.
We have received an NSF STEP UP grant to support our work with community
colleges and the CSUs, and we're working together on best practices
for intervention, academic development programs, and undergraduate
retention strategies.
Approximately 272,000 are enrolled in the 15 community colleges
in the greater Los Angeles area, and more than 51 percent of those
students are from underrepresented populations and communities.
But only a fraction of those students are transferring into UCs
- that is a major disconnection that needs to be addressed. Many
are smart, knowledgeable, capable students who can make a real impact
as middle-upper management in industry or as dynamic creative engineers
and computer scientist.
What are the greatest challenges your
office will face over the next five to 10 years?
There are three major challenges that we face: Legally, the California
public universities cannot compete with private and out-of-state
universities with recruitment trips, scholarships offers, and other
incentives to attract the top underrepresented students. The high
school students participating in our math and science programs are
heavily recruited by out of state and private universities. The
students' talent and potential are being recognized, and we're losing
them to universities who can offer them full scholarships. Hence,
increasing the numbers of underrepresented students at the UCs and
engineering in particular is a serious challenge. Dean Vijay Dhir
is working with us on this problem. Extramural funding is key to
our present success - matching corporate and foundation funding
agencies to support our programs is a continuing challenge.
In part because of the increased competition, all engineering schools
are having difficulties increasing the numbers of underrepresented
students in science and engineering at the UCs. Our retention programs
are very successful and we're developing exceptional students, but
we have to explore and develop new student resources - including
community colleges - to locate, develop and recruit increased numbers
of what Dr. Shirley Jackson, President of RPI calls the "underrepresented
majority" of students.
Lastly, funding is always a challenge. Extramural funding accounts
for 70 percent of CEED's budget - the funds from our corporate partners,
UCOP, federal programs, and other sources. To maintain and strengthen
our programs, we must identify and secure additional support for
outreach and retention.
How can our alumni and friends in
industry become more involved with CEED's mission?
There are over 850 HSSEAS alumni who were recruited, developed and
utilized CEED support programs. A good way for all alumni to make
a substantial difference in our mission and the School's is to make
a gift to support our programs. A lot of companies will match charitable
gifts, turning a gift of $50 into $100. And if 10 of our alumni
make a gift at that level, that's $1,000, which can have a major
impact on our outreach and retention programs.
A lot of our CEED alumni are still young, and they are still very
involved with our partner student organizations - the American Indian
Science and Engineering Society, the National Society of Black Engineers,
and the Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists. We would love
for them to get involved in other ways: acting as representatives
for their company, coming back to campus for mock interview sessions
and resume workshops, and serving as mentors to current students.
Many do offer their services in CEED programs but not enough yet.
Their experiences in the work force are invaluable, and they could
provide a lot of good advice to our students.
For additional information on ways you can
become involved with CEED's mission, please contact Enrique Ainsworth
at 310-206-6493 or rique@ea.ucla.edu.
- Marlys Amundson
Photos: Anthony S. Johnson
Audrey Pool O'Neal
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