DEL ESCRUTINIO Y CÓMPUTO DE LA CASILLA

With the increase in educational access for Blacks and other citizens of color, the corporate community called for an increase in the participation of minorities in the field of engineering. However, this corporate response provides another example of interest convergence. The basis for this call was a need to increase the supply of engineers to make it easier to respond to the affirmative action requirements for federal contracts (Malcom, 1996). It was also in response to concerns that unrest could develop if minorities were not included in engineering and future engineering management positions (General Electric, 1972; Landis, 2005; p. 1; Sims, 1992). In July 1972, J. Stanford Smith, a senior vice president with General Electric, spoke at the Engineering Education Conference. He challenged those in attendance to “take bold, innovative, all-out action to increase the supply of minority engineering graduates not by a few percentage points by 10- or 15-fold, and to get it done within the decade” (General Electric, 1972). Smith noted that in 1971, 43,000 engineers graduated from college and only 470 of them were Black. He also pointed out that 70% of the Black engineering graduates were from HBCUs (Sims, 1992, p. 1). Smith’s urgency was clearly articulated and industry representatives, government officials,

educators and others chose to rally around his call. His statement marked the beginning of an organized and concerted effort to increase the number of Black and other minority engineers.

In May 1973, the Commission on Education and the National Academy of Engineering convened a group of corporate representatives, engineering educators, government officials, students and other leaders for the Symposium on Increasing Minority Participation in Engineering (Padulo, 1974). The purpose of this meeting was to develop a plan to respond to the challenge issued by Smith and the outcome of the meeting was a report entitled Minorities in Engineering: A Blueprint for Action (1974). This publication expressed an understanding of the

educational challenges experienced by students of color and provided a comprehensive list of 20 recommendations to reform engineering education at the pre-college and undergraduate levels to increase the representation of minorities in engineering. Establishing one organization to raise and distribute funds to support minority engineering students and working with HBCUs responsible for producing a high percentage of minority engineers to gain their accreditation and increase enrollment. Identifying schools with high populations of Chicano, Puerto Rican and American Indian students, developing programs at those schools to support engineering degree completion, and increasing the production of minority PhDs in engineering to serve as faculty and administrative leaders to mentor students enrolled in engineering schools are examples of some of the suggestions made. The report addressed the lack of adequate preparation of minority pre-college students and recommended summer classes for high school students interested in engineering and tutoring programs for students already enrolled in college as engineering majors (Padulo, 1974). As a result, there were four new organizations created to support prospective and current minority engineering students. The National Advisory Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and the Committee on Minorities in Engineering (COME) were two advisory groups that provided guidance on the engineering effort. The National Fund for

Minority Engineering Students (NFMES) was a scholarship fund for minority students pursuing engineering degrees. The Minority Engineering Education Effort (ME3_{) was a college matching} service that paired students interested in engineering with engineering schools (Blackwell, 1987). These organizations eventually merged into the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) (Landis, 2005).

2.6.1 Minority engineering programs

In response to the national initiative to increase the number of Black engineers as well as engineers from other ethnically underrepresented groups, traditionally White institutions developed minority engineering programs (MEPs). These programs, generally run by staff or faculty members at traditionally White higher education institutions, exist to support, retain and graduate Black, Latino, and Native American engineering students. MEP professionals help students navigate through their engineering journey, while coaching them through academic hurdles, social interactions and institutional barriers. As Nathaniel Thomas, former MEP director at Illinois Institute of Technology stated, MEP directors “are “the sweat hogs” of the minority engineering effort... the ‘et ceteras’ and the “And do forths” that do the work” (National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, 1987, p. 3). Effective minority engineering programs reduce the racial isolation experienced by students and create a sense of community (Landis, 2005; May & Chubin, 2003; Tsui, 2007).

In 1982, a group of minority engineering program directors formed the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators (NAMEPA) to provide professional development to MEP administrators regarding the recruitment, admission, retention and graduation of minority engineering students by addressing pre-college and college needs

(NAMEPA, 1987). As the organization grew, the group outlined an administrative structure and developed procedures related to the minority engineering effort. In 1985, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators (NAMEPA) collaborated to create a handbook of best practices entitled Improving the Retention and Graduation of Minorities in Engineering. This document provided guidance to early MEP professionals on how to develop a comprehensive program and the document chapters, authored by representatives of NACME and NAMEPA, described the various components of a “model” program such as recruitment, orientation, minority engineering student organizations, academic advising, academic support and faculty involvement (Landis, 1985). Minority engineering programs and the strategies associated with these programs have been identified as effective in increasing diversity (Davis, 2014; May & Chubin, 2003; National Academies, 2011; Tsui, 2007) and a best practice when supporting Black students pursuing engineering degrees (Tsui, 2007).

As a professional organization of minority engineering program advocates, NAMEPA kept its fingers on the pulse of issues related to advancing minorities in engineering and recognized shifts in support over the years. In 1986, the leadership of NAMEPA identified a list of 43 “Vital Issues” pertaining to the minority engineering effort at the pre-college, college, graduate, institutional and organizational levels. The primary concern expressed in this list was that many of the barriers outlined at the beginning of the minority engineering effort in 1972 continued to exist. Some of the continued challenges included a lack of support at the government and institutional levels, educational challenges within K-12 system, and the limited progress towards meeting the initial goals of the effort (National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, 1987).

2.6.2 National Society of Black Engineers

Just as educators, corporate representatives and government officials were involved in the effort to increase the number of Black engineers; students were an active part of the movement as well. In the early 1970s, two Purdue students formed the Black Society of Engineers (BSE) to create a support network that would help to address the low first year retention rate of 20% for Black engineering students (National Society of Black Engineers, n.d.). In 1974, Dr. Arthur Bond, the former faculty advisor to BSE, helped students establish the Society of Black Engineers (SBE). Shortly thereafter, the group-contacted deans of all accredited engineering programs along with the University presidents to inform them of the organization and to invite Black student leaders, organizations and faculty members to support their efforts and approximately 80 schools responded. In April 1975, 48 students representing 32 schools met at Purdue University for the first national meeting of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) (National Society of Black Engineers, n.d.). The mission of NSBE is “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community” (National Society of Black Engineers, 2010, p. 3). Today NSBE is one of the largest student-run organizations with more than 31,000 collegiate, professional and pre- college members. Each year, the organization sponsors several conferences including a national convention with approximately 9,000 participants, regional conferences, and professional development meetings (National Society of Black Engineers, 2010). The organization has been a key part of the community of Black engineering students since its inception and it consistently provides mentoring and career preparation to Black engineering students (Slaughter, Tao & Pearson, 2015).