HBCU-MI
by Lango Deen
ldeen@ccgmag.com
WORKFORCE CHAMP RETIRES
T
o engineering deans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) whose endgame is promoting academic programs, directing faculty, setting policy and procedures for departments, teaching and R&D are all vital parts of their jobs. But to Oliver S. Leslie, Historically Black Col- leges and Universities and Minority Institutions program manager for The Boeing Company, these functions prepare people who will build Boeing’s jetliners, satellites, electronic and defense systems and create the technology of the future.
Oliver S. (Bo) Leslie, senior principal specialist, supplier diversity and program manager, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions Initiative
www.blackengineer.com
Perhaps Leslie, a Toney, Alabama, native always imagined he would someday work for the world’s largest aerospace company. A share- cropper’s son, highlights of long days in the cotton fields were planes that flew by from the old Army post at Redstone Arsenal. Aircraft intrigued him and made him wonder how they operated. After high school, he went on to major in electronic engineering technology at Alabama A&M University—the start of a 42- year career through GE, and then McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. Leslie’s first job in 1971 was as an electri- cal engineer in a large industrial avionics laboratory. A little later he moved from design and build into system engineering, where he wrote specifications and was a go-between for the company and customers such as the U.S. Navy and Air Force. But while working on enabling realization of successful systems, Leslie grew to learn more about how his company made money and saw opportunity for HBCU/MI students to work on ap- plied and product-related areas. That was a pivotal moment in the formation of a partnership that has existed for more than 30 years. Building relationships became
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