This document summarizes presentations from the NAFNext2014 conference about increasing underrepresented minority participation in STEM fields. It discusses the mission and programs of NACME to provide scholarships and support to minority students pursuing engineering degrees. It also outlines pre-college STEM programs at NJIT and Virginia Tech that target middle and high school students, including summer camps, coursework, and mentoring to prepare students for engineering studies. The goal is to establish pathways from high school to engineering colleges to develop a more diverse engineering workforce.

1. #NAFNext2014

2. A Roadmap from High School
to Engineering Colleges
Presenters:
Saundra Johnson Austin, NACME
Dr. Bevlee Watford, NSF/VA-Tech
Lawrence “Tony” Howell, NJIT

3. What is NACME?
Our Mission
To ensure American competitiveness in a flat world by leading and
supporting the national effort to expand U.S. capability through increasing
the number of successful African American, American Indian, and Latino
young women and men in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education and careers.
Our Vision
An engineering workforce that looks like America.

4. NACME Board of Directors
Role of the Board of Directors: to provide support and advocacy for NACME’s mission.

5. NACME Corporate Council
Role of the Corporate Council: to provide support and advocacy for NACME’s mission.

6. NACME by the Numbers
NACME is the largest private provider of scholarships in engineering for
underrepresented minority students.
Since 1974, 24,000+ minority engineering students have been awarded NACME
Scholarships
$124 million has been awarded to support NACME Scholarships and programs to
date
More than 1,200 students supported by NACME Scholarships in 2013
$5.5 million provided by corporate and university partners to fund NACME
Scholarship programs each year
160 Colleges and universities have been awarded NACME Scholarship grants
51 Partner Universities located nationwide

7. Pre-Engineering Program Strategy
Established partnership with National Academy Foundation (NAF) and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) to
open 110 Academies of Engineering. There have been 75 AOEs established nationwide.
Benefits of the AOE Partnerships:
• Distribute engineering awareness materials
• Through the NACME STEM Integration Model (NSIM), NACME Partner Institutions offer summer
programs to AOE students and summer bridge programs to first year engineering college
students
• Offer scholarships to eligible graduating high school seniors
• NACME Board Companies serve on AOE advisory Boards
AOE students from Cesar Chavez High School,
Houston, Texas
AOE students from Scotlandville
Magnet High School, Baton Rouge, LA

8. High School
Funding for materials provided by a grant from the Northrop Grumman Foundation.
All Students
Middle School
DVD that offers
helps students
improve study habits
and succeed in
school.
Pre-Engineering Awareness Materials

9. Did you know that there are more than 200 different
engineering disciplines? Some of the most popular are:
NACME Guide to Engineering Colleges
Engineering Disciplines
Aerospace Agricultural & Biological
Architectural & Civil Audio
Bioengineering & Biochemical Biomedical
Ceramics & Materials Chemical
Computer Electrical
Environmental Geological
Industrial & Manufacturing Marine and Ocean
Mechanical Mining
Nuclear Petroleum
For more information on these disciplines visit:
nacme.org/types-of-engineering

10. • How to improve your chances of being admitted to college?
– Keep your high school GPA up
– Take challenging math and science courses
– Take courses on local college campus for credit
– Work hard to get a good score on standardized tests (SAT and
ACT)
– Seek community service and extra-curricular activities to show
a well rounded student
– Take time to create your personal statement
– Give guidance counselor enough time to write letter of
recommendations
NACME Guide to Engineering Colleges
FAQs

11. • Freshman Year:
– Meet with Guidance Counselor to establish academic track and start
to take challenging math and science classes
• Sophomore Year:
– Take PSAT Exam and participate in extra-curricular activities and
search for summer programs
• Junior Year:
– Take SAT or ACT Exam
– Search for college scholarships, visit colleges, enroll in AP exams,
and participate in summer programs
• Senior Year:
– Apply for college and financial aid
– Apply for NACME Pre-Engineering Scholarship
NACME Guide to Engineering Colleges
Timeline for High School Students

12. Center for the Enhancement
of Engineering Diversity
Bev Watford
July 2014

13. Center for the Enhancement of
Engineering Diversity
• Founded 1992 as the Office of Minority
Engineering Programs
• Increase numbers of URM students earning
engineering degrees from VT
• Programs targeted for
– African Americans
– Women
– Hispanic/Latina/o

14. CEED
• 2001
– Grutter v. Michigan
– Virginia OCR lawsuit
– Name change to CEED
• 2004
– NSF STEP award
• Quantum expansion of numbers of students served
• Recognition of successful programs

15. CEED
• 2010
– STEP 1B award with College of Science
– Collaboration with Residence Life - inVenTs
• 2013 - Suite of Programs
– Middle school (Imagination, inVenTs Outreach,
Summer BLAST)
– High school (C-Tech2, PCI, RISE, Women’s
Preview Weekend)
– Pre-freshman (STEP Bridge)
– Undergraduate (Mentoring, Hypatia, Galileo,
inVenTs)

16. CEED
• 3 full time staff
– Assistant Director: Susan Arnold Christian
– Assistant to Director: Sandra Griffith
– Office Manager: Becky Shelor
• 7 graduate assistants
• ~150 undergraduate students
• Serving over 1,000 students annually

17. K-12 Programs
• Imagination
– 1 week day
camp
– Rising 7th and 8th
grade students
– ~40 students
– 2 separate
weeks in July

18. K-12 Programs
• C-Tech2
• 2 week residential
• Rising 11th and 12th
grade girls

19. K-12 Programs
• RISE
– Sophomores from
Tidewater and
NoVA
– One VT event per
semester until they
graduate (5 visits)

20. K-12 Programs
• PreCollege Initiative
(with NSBE)
• Saturday Activities
• Kickoff Weekend
• Parent Program

21. K-12 Programs
• Women’s Preview Weekend
– Faculty Breakfast
– Parent Talk
– Tours/Student Organizations

22. STEP Summer Bridge
• “bridging” the transition from
high school to college (5
weeks)
• Academic Development
– Chemistry, lab, intro to
engineering, precalculus
• Professional Development
– Leadership development,
interviewing
• Personal Development
– Etiquette dinner,
mentoring, team building

23. Fall Welcome Picnic

24. Peer Mentoring
• Upper-class Team Leaders
• 5-8 freshman
– BEST (Black Engineering Support Teams)
– WEST (Women in Engineering Support
Teams)
– AHORA (Academic Hispanic OutReach
Alliance)
– GUEST (General Engineering Support
Teams)
• Monthly dinners
• After test socials

25. Galipatia
• Hypatia (2001), Galileo (2005)
• “Living, learning community”
– Fall Seminar
– Block Scheduling
– Leadership Development
• Academic, Community Service,
Social Committees
• Peer Mentoring

26. • Collaboration with College of Science
– DaVinci (biological and life sciences)
– Curie (physical and quantitative sciences)
• Leadership Opportunities
– Design Competitions
– Social Committee
– Publicity Committee

27. Who is inVenTs?

29. Impact on Retention

31. Presenter: Lawrence “Tony” Howell
Executive Director, Educational
Opportunity Programs

32.  The Center for Pre-College Programs was established in 1978 in order to increase
access to scientific and technological fields among traditionally underrepresented
populations and to improve the teaching of science and mathematics in secondary
and elementary schools. All programs involve corporate partners, local school
districts, non-profit educational organizations, and NJIT
 The corporate partners provide classroom speakers, financial support, role models,
field trips, and expertise in the teaching of science and engineering
 Over three decades of involvement in pre-college science and engineering programs
have convinced NJIT and its partners that intervention must begin in the elementary
grades
 NJIT has greatly increased its activities aimed at improving science teaching in the
classroom and reforming the elementary science curriculum as early as kindergarten
 The Center for Pre-College Programs annually serves more than 3,000 elementary
and secondary students and their teachers in a variety of programs
NJIT Center for Pre-College Programs
32

33. Early College Preparatory Programs
 Women in Engineering & Technology Initiatives FEMME Program
• Environmental Engineering FEMME -- 4th Grade / Female
• Aeronautical Engineering FEMME -- 5th Grade / Female
• Mechanical Engineering FEMME -- 6th Grade / Female
• Chemical Engineering FEMME -- 7th Grade / Female
• Biomedical Engineering FEMME -- 8th Grade / Female
 Environmental Science and Engineering Program (ESEP) -- 4th Grade
 Aeronautical Engineering Program (AEP) -- 5th Grade
 Pre-Engineering Program (PrEP) -- 6th Grade
 Explore Careers in Technology and Engineering (ExCITE) -- 7th Grade
 Medical Robotics (MEDIBOTICS) -- 8th Grade
 Introduction to Chemical Industry in Engineering Program (IChIME) -- 7th
and 8th Grade
 Fundamentals of Physical Sciences (FPS) -- 9th through 11th Grade
• Chemistry
• Physics
33

34. NACME/NJIT NACME NSIM Linkage
Summer 2013 Pre-College Program
 Six-week, residential, multi-STEM program for middle/high school
students (maximum 20 students at each level);
 Instructional/experiential presentations with culminating student project
focused on tangible, real-life applications;
 Curriculum tied to AOE/PLTW formats, but with instruction tied to college
admissions criteria;
 Correlation of summer program with sending schools curriculum
34