The institutions that educated America’s Baby Boom generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians, among others, are still in the business of training. And historically black colleges and universities, which serve a large percentage of minority students, are a vital part of the network of establishments working to im- prove undergraduate STEM education and produce a new generation of STEM professionals. Their numbers may be small, but the heads of historically black ABET-accredited engineering colleges make a big impact. HBCU/MIs gradu- ate a third of black engineering graduates in the U.S. each year. Black engineering colleges remain a valuable source of diverse, innovative talent for strengthening American businesses and communities and improving conditions globally.
To maintain their storied heritage of innovation, academic officers are broadening their public- private partnerships to boost investment and provide resources that keep research on the cutting edge. They partner with employers and R&D labs willing to fund efforts to develop the talent and intellectual assets needed to maintain America’s competitive workforce. Highlights of these col- laborations don’t make the front page, but you’re guaran- teed to read about them in the annual review of USBE&IT magazine’s Top Supporters of Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Minority Institutions Survey. In com- pleting the annual Top Supporters Survey, HBCU deans of engineering consider the following factors:
• Support for infrastructure modernization and enhance- ment
• Research, participation on advisory councils • Faculty development opportunities • Scholarships • Student projects • Stipends, co-ops, and career opportunities
A sample of the success stories carried in USBE&IT’s Top Supporters Survey since the very first one was pub- lished eight years ago include supplying information on business and industry clusters at HBCUs, giving advice on curriculum upgrades, meeting with deans, workshops, and funding university proposals. Through corporate and gov- ernment scholars programs, top supporters offer faculty members and researchers software, hardware, and other educational materials designed to help them use and incorporate the latest technologies into their curriculum and research.
In 2002, USBE&IT revealed that a top supporter had received the first Millionaire’s Club Award from the Defense Contract Management Agency for passing the mil- lion-dollar mark in placement of subcontract awards with historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions. Almost $2 million—$1,970,894, to be exact— had been supplied with 13 partnering HBCU/MIs. The top supporter’s charitable investments were supplemented with technology, equipment and other intellectual-proper- ty donations, such as optical logic and optical computing technology that could be used to develop faster and more powerful computers. The company also had its senior executives work closely with deans at HBCUs to promote mutual goals.
Another top supporter contributed $6.9 million toward a $12-million donation of hardware, software and
www.blackengineer.com
training. It was the first Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education grant to a histori- cally black college or university and the largest-ever gift of CAD/CAM/CAE technology to a black college. Math-based and engineering tools to another historically black college were awarded under a substantial $60.9-million grant comprising software, hardware and training resources.
In another shared university research program, an HBCU received approximately $750,000 in computer hardware, software and maintenance to its research labo- ratories. Hiring programs focusing on underrepresented groups provide 40 to 60 percent of diverse college hires for another top supporter, mentioned by HBCU deans. As part of its diversity campus executive program, corporate execs partner with engineering schools and other par- ticipating schools to ensure they have the best and most competitive science and engineering curriculum.
Not to be outdone, U.S. government laboratories and agencies, working to promote science and technology in schools and universities to facilitate interaction, also pitched in to foster the support of research proposals originating at HBCUs and assist in strengthening their capability to conduct quality research of interest to government and industry.
Over the life-cycle of the Top Supporters Survey, this sampling of success stories has been the rule rather than the exception. That is until this year. The 2010 HBCU Survey reveals that though major employers, military organizations and federal agencies stayed the course, the total number of top supporters has dropped. In all, 84 companies and government agencies are considered most supportive of engineering programs at the HBCUs, in the opinion of those who oversee the programs.
In response to the survey results, Tyrone D. Taborn, CEO and publisher of USBE&IT said, “The annual ranking reflects the perception HBCU engineering deans have of the total level of support they receive. The organizations they have named see these schools as more than a place to recruit employees. But clearly the economy has reduced support for the HBCU Engineering Programs. This is unfor- tunate, given that they continue to graduate 33 percent of all black engineers.”
The institutions invited to participate in the survey were: Alabama A&M University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, Norfolk State Uni- versity, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University A&M, Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University and Virginia State University.
Currently in its eighth year, the survey, conducted by US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine, is completed by the engineering school deans of the ABET-accredited HBCU and minority institutions. USBE&IT salutes these top corporations and government agencies that continue to be a cornerstone, show commitment to HBCU/MI programs and make that commitment a central component of their efforts to provide leading-edge tech- nology. The 2010 Top Supporters of HBCU-MI Engineering Schools will be honored on Thursday, July 1, 2010 during the CCG Alumni Planning Retreat at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, MD. v
USBE&IT I Deans Edition SPRING 2010 47
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