ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE PROGRAM SPONSORED BY ALABAMA POWER
Academic Excellence Program
Established in 1996, the Academic Excellence Program enhances recruitment and retention of underrepresented engineering students at Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. The Academic Excellence Program has impacted thousands of aspiring engineers since its inception, and it currently serves more than 300 students per year. Sponsors of the program assist the college in cultivating an educational environment that empowers underrepresented students by providing resources to ensure their success. The program focuses on innovative strategies that not only promote engineering, but also create a culture in which students excel.
Annual Sponsorship
We invite you to partner with the Academic Excellence Program through gifts that will enable us to develop and sustain initiatives designed to recruit, retain and reward underrepresented students in engineering. Your participation allows our students to know that corporations and individuals are dedicated to improving their engineering experience.
Heritage Sponsor – $500 - $4,999 • Company name on sponsors page of AEP website
• Annual AEP scholarship in company’s name
Shirley Scott Harris Sponsor – $5,000 - $14,999 • All Heritage Sponsor benefits, plus: • Summer Engineering Enrichment Program project sponsorship
• Sunday Tutorial Professional Development Workshop presentation
• Spring Closing Ceremony display table
Dennis Weatherby Sponsor – $15,000+ • All Harris Sponsor benefits, plus: • Representation on AEP Advisory Council • Private networking event with AEP students • Access to AEP student résumé database
Signature Sponsor – $200,000 (limit of 1) • All Weatherby Sponsor benefits, plus: • The sponsor’s name associated with the Academic Excellence Program title on all printed and electronic publications.
Distinguished Speaker Series – $20,000 per year or $500,000 endowment • Speaker series will be named for the donor • Audience will include AEP students, engineering students and STEM Bridge Programs
Sponsorship Benefits
Your support demonstrates a commitment to promoting educational, as well as professional, opportunities for underrepresented engineering students. Your investment will provide:
• VISIBILITY for your dedication to providing support for underrepresented students in engineering • COMMITMENT to diversity in STEM careers • ACCESS to some of the nation’s top underrepresented engineering students for internships and co-ops, as well as employment upon graduation
• OPPORTUNITIES to inform and enrich engineering programming with representation during AEP events In addition, your support of the Academic Excellence Program will also provide important benefits for Auburn Engineering students, including:
• INSIGHT into current corporate culture and guidance on how to succeed in the workplace • SUPPORT from professionals who are dedicated to ensuring that underrepresented students in engineering meet their full potential
• RELATIONSHIPS with alumni who understand the importance of connecting with the next generation • ACCESS to scholarships for underrepresented students enrolled in the College of Engineering
Program Impacts Recruiting – AEP staff and students collaborate with the College of Engineering and university recruiting offices,
participating in college fairs and high school visits and hosting or participating in Auburn campus recruiting visits and events such as E-Day and STEM High School Visitation Day.
Scholarships – Since 2006, AEP students have been awarded more than $1 million in scholarships. Summer Engineering Enrichment Program – This program helps guide high school graduates through the transition to college, allowing a major portion of this transition to occur in a fun, yet demanding, summer experience. Living Learning Community – Students study, attend classes and live together in designated residence housing to help ease the transition to college.
Collaborative groups, interactive lab and tutoring – These programs place students in study groups and common classes for coordinated group learning, incentivized by the program staff and scholarship support, while also building a pattern of regular study sessions and providing a framework for learning new materials. Professional development – Tutorials, workshops and events are held throughout the year as students meet in small group settings with representatives from companies, alumni of AEP, counselors, experts in a variety of fields and campus resource representatives to keep them on the road to academic and professional success.
Career counseling, co-ops and internships – Specialized résumé preparation and mock interviews are arranged exclusively for AEP participants to prepare them for co-op, internship and career interviews.
Looking to the Future
Our goals are to serve and support Academic Excellence Program participants from pre-college through graduation by focusing on academic preparation, professional readiness and exploration of career paths. We will continue to support a community-centered engineering learning environment that will serve as a model for other programs with a focus on serving underrepresented populations pursuing engineering degrees.
OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT Samuel Ginn College of Engineering 334.844.5222 Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.