2008 Preparing Diverse Students for Engineering

Leaders across the nation are increasingly recognizing the threat to America’s global leadership and future economic prospects based on the low numbers of students being trained in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States. The picture in Kentucky is even worse. Kentucky ranks 49th nationally in the number of degrees conferred in science and engineering and 41st in the number of people working in science and engineering occupations. If we want our children to have prosperous futures and our state and national economies to be competitive and dominant, significant changes must be made.

Adding to the problem is the fact that the engineering field has lagged behind others in recruiting, admitting, and graduating racial minorities, particularly Hispanic, African-American, and Asian/Pacific Islanders, which in aggregate are projected to increase to 52 percent of the resident college-age population by 2050.

To address the low percentage of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students in Kentucky and do so with rising minority student populations, Deborah Besser of UK’s College of Engineering is partnering with the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, Minority Student College Awareness/YMCA Black Achievers, and Realizing Academic Potential (Project RAP), the Fayette County Public Schools, the Council on Postsecondary Education, the Kentucky Department of Education, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Ceradyne, Lexmark, Secat, and the Kentucky Transportation Center. Together, they will implement a two-week residential program for rising high school juniors from traditionally under-served and under-represented populations. The program, UK Best, will provide students the opportunity to develop and strengthen their pre-engineering academic skills while discovering the opportunities available in engineering. Students will gain skills that prepare them for their junior and senior years of high school as well as for college-level engineering coursework.