Celebrating 50 Years of Diversity & Women’s Programs

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF ENGINEERING DIVERSITY & WOMEN’S PROGRAMS

VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENTS AND A SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN ARE AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS COMMEMORATING THE ANNIVERSARY.

by Joel Mathis

is a landmark year for a groundbreaking program at the KU School of Engineering. Engineering Diversity and Women’s programs celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. To commemorate the anniversary, the School hosted virtual and in-person events, and launched a scholarship fundraising campaign throughout the year.

The anniversary means “there’s been a lot of positive change, we’ve seen our numbers grow,” said Elaina Sutley, the School of Engineering’s newly appointed Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging. “We’ve been able to retain more women, more diverse students, but importantly, there’s more work to be done in this space.”

That sentiment was echoed earlier in 2021 by Sutley’s predecessor, Andrew Williams, who served as Engineering Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from 2017 until his appointment as the Dean of Engineering at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, in June. “We want to celebrate the fact that we’ve been doing this since 1971, and it’s been an award-winning program ever since,” said Williams.

The organization began in 1971 as SCoRMEBE, the Student Council for Recruiting, Motivating and Educating Black Engineers, started by African American engineering students at KU: William Nunnery, Gene Kendall and Ralph Temple. Soon after, William Hogan was appointed as the school’s first assistant dean of minority affairs.

“We figured we’d try to establish a program to get more young engineers on campus,” Kendall, a retired rear admiral

2021 in the U.S. Navy, said in a 2012 interview. “We didn’t know how to do it, but we knew we needed to actively recruit. We had tremendous support from the School of Engineering, so we set about raising funds to start the program.” At the time there were few such organizations on American college campuses. In 1977, SCoRMEBE was named one of the four best minority engineering programs in the country by the National Research Council’s committee on Minorities in Engineering. “KU certainly had the first one in the country conceived and initiated by students,” Floyd Preston, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, said in 2012.

Ronald Moore, who received his degree in electrical engineering in the late 1980s, works at a computer at the School of Engineering in this file photo.

Over the years, the original program expanded to include an array of groups. In 1987, the School of Engineering established a student chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. In 1990, the office established a student chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and took on a larger role with the KU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. In 1995, the program changed its name to Diversity Programs for the School of Engineering, to reflect its wider mandate.

Much of that expansion took place under the leadership of Florence Boldridge, who ran the program between 1983 and 2017.

“It’s important for students to get a sense of belonging,” Boldridge said in 2016. “When they are a part of an organization like this one, they get that feeling that ‘this is here just for me.’ In addition, we know it’s important that they realize they are valued and that they have a place in the School of Engineering.”

Boldridge was also recognized as the Minority Engineering Program Director of the Year by the National Society of Black Engineers in 2011.

In 2017, Williams—who earned his undergraduate and doctorate degrees at KU and was introduced to KU during his high school days through SCoRMEBE’s summer early entry program—became Associate Dean. Early in his tenure he reimagined and rebranded the program with a new name: IHAWKe, which stands for Indigenous, Hispanic, African American and Women KU engineers.

Since then, IHAWKe has worked to retain current students through mentoring and tutoring programs, begun outreach to low-income and minority students in middle school and high school through its KU Engineering, Science, and Technology (KUEST) program, created summer acclimation opportunities for new students before they start class, and worked to connect existing undergraduate students to summertime research opportunities. IHAWKe has also brought in guest lecturers and created a visiting scholar program that gives students more exposure to top minds in the engineering field.

Faculty, students, alumni and distinguished guests were among those who attended the virtual celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Engineering Diversity & Women’s programs in April 2021.

Williams also developed the Summer Bridge Program for recent high school graduates planning to attend KU. The eight-week program provides an opportunity for these students to take pre-calculus before arriving in the fall. In addition, students gain skills necessary to succeed in a rigorous engineering curriculum, begin to learn the engineering design process, join a cohort of peers and receive engineering faculty support. All costs are covered by the School of Engineering and private donors.

Williams organized “IHAWKe-athons,” competitions that give students in the program a chance to showcase their skills in devising solutions to engineering challenges while providing networking opportunities. Judges for the competition typically are representatives from major engineering firms in the Midwest region.

“I thought it was a very empowering event for minority students, to see that their creativity is as valued and welcomed as other people,” said Darene Essa, an Overland Park undergraduate student in mechanical engineering, after a 2019 event. “We were able to talk to industry reps and make connections, and that was very empowering, too.”

As a result of these comprehensive efforts, in 2019 KU was one of 29 institutions across the country to receive an exemplar bronze rating—the highest available classification during the review period—from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in its Diversity Recognition Program as one of the “nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence.”

Now it’s up to Sutley to carry the program forward.

“It means I get to build on a strong foundation—a 50-year deep foundation,” she said. “It also tells me there’s a lot of alumni who must really care about this space. I need to find them and get them involved, if they’re not already.”