Home : Volume 33 : Spring 2007 :
GIFT REPORT 2006: Promoting diversity within engineering

George Reistad (Large image)

Rod Hassett (BS ’62) returned to campus some 40 years after he earned his degree here in civil and environmental engineering —and he noticed many big changes.

Yet, as Hassett looked at the faces of students in the civil and environmental engineering senior capstone design course (which he co-teaches with CEE Professor Jeffrey Russell), he saw one thing that remained largely unchanged: Only a handful of students were African-American.

“I think there is a need for African-American students to become engineers,” says Hassett, who retired in 2002 as vice president of Madison-based Strand Associates. “My life’s experience has taught me that a diverse group makes smarter, more intelligent decisions than like-minded groups. And most decisions in engineering—and in all businesses, for that matter—are basically decided in groups of three to seven people. Diversity within those groups makes a lot of sense.”

An alumnus of Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School, a Milwaukee school noted for its diverse student body and high academic ranking, Hassett wondered how to attract more King graduates to the UW-Madison College of Engineering. “A lot of kids just don’t know what engineers do—they really don’t have the role models,” he says. “They know what doctors do; they know what lawyers do.”

So Hassett, Russell and others in Milwaukee helped to launch a society that attempts to engage high school students as young as sophomores in engineering activities. And to help promising students pay for college, Hassett established the Rod Hassett Engineering Scholarship Fund for African-American Rufus King students who plan to pursue an engineering degree at UW-Madison.

The fund will provide two $5,000 scholarships annually; recipients will receive the scholarship in both their freshman and sophomore years. At that point, the College of Engineering will maintain the scholarship through the recipients’ graduation, provided they maintain their GPA and remain students in the college.

King student George Reistad is the first Hassett Scholarship recipient. A participant in the UW-Madison PEOPLE program, Riestad hopes to study mechanical engineering. “This scholarship means a lot to me because I’m very interested in mechanical engineering,” he says. “The scholarship will help me financially. It will take my mind off the financial burden and help me focus on my studies.”

College of Engineering Assistant Dean for Diversity Affairs Steven Clark calls Hassett’s scholarship a wonderful initiative. “As we try to produce a more diverse pool of engineers, scholarships and other resources are needed to recruit students to the college and support them financially through graduation,” he says. “Whenever an alumnus is willing to give back to support the college, it’s always, always welcome.”

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Date last modified: 05-Jun-2007
Date created: 05-Jun-2007

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