Diversity Affairs Office Receives $500,000 GE Grant
The College of Engineering Diversity Affairs Office has received a $500,000 grant from General Electric Co. to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of under-represented students. Payable over five years, the funds will specifically target female and minority high school students living in and around Milwaukee.
Alem Asres (large image) |
"Undergraduate engineering programs in the United States are experiencing a decline in minority enrollments," said Alem Asres, assistant dean of diversity affairs. "Aggressive, well-funded interventions such as this grant will help us reverse this trend and maintain our technological leadership and economic strength by allowing more traditionally under-represented student populations to become engineers and scientists."
The grant gives the college the "financial security to run an effective pre-college program and offer full cycle, limited tuition and book scholarship for at least 10 traditionally underrepresented students," Asres said. "It's the carrot we've been looking for. There's a lot of competition for these students and this gives us a much-needed edge."
- Key areas targeted by the grant include:
- Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE): Three $5,000 grants will be given annually to students taking part in this eight-week program, which uses hands-on research projects to test their interests in scientific careers.
- Engineering Summer Program (ESP): Each year, $42,000 will support this program for college-bound high school students considering an engineering major.
- GE Full-Cycle Scholarships: Ten qualified students will be awarded $3,265 per year to cover the cost of in-state tuition, books and supplies.
Other funds will go toward informational publications, recruitment travel, professional seminars, on-site industrial experiences, and program assessment.
Prior to this grant, the College of Engineering had formed a healthy research and recruiting relationship with General Electric and its business unit, GE Medical Systems. For example, GE granted the college $100,000 for faculty development in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the family foundation of Philip D. Reed, GE's former CEO, donated $2.4 million to establish the Reed Center for Photonics. Additionally, more than 200 college alumni are employed by GE, including more than 40 by GE Medical Systems.