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Session 2570

Minority Education in Engineering, Mathematics and Science Joseph D. Torres and Tom Cummings School of Engineering University of New Mexico

Abstract

The University of New Mexico (UNM) Minority Engineering, Mathematics and Science (MEMS) Program is a uniquely comprehensive program designed to increase the number of minority students enrolling, graduating and pursuing careers in Engineering, Mathematics and Science (EMS) by: 1) improving retention rates of students in EMS disciplines, 2) fostering relations with industry and the technical community to address workforce needs and professional development of EMS students, and 3) enhancing public teachers’ ability to teach mathematics, science and technology. The program has developed several collaborative initiatives/partnerships with two-year post-secondary institutes statewide and with public schools for the purposes of increasing the participation rate of New Mexicans in post-secondary education by increasing the number of statewide public schools that participate in these collaborative efforts.

I. Introduction

The MEMS recruitment and retention program consists of seven core components: I) A Summer Bridge Program, for 50 topnotch high-school students admitted and planning to enroll at UNM in the Fall. This intensive four-week program prepares them for the UNM environment, fosters community among participants, encourages academic excellence, improves retention rates, provides students with academic success strategies, bridges the gap between high school and college, and acquaints incoming freshmen with faculty and the university environment. II) MEMS Academic Excellence Workshops (AEW)/study groups, in core courses for EMS majors, create a community environment based on academic excellence and help participants improve their networking, problem-solving and presentation skills, and academic performance. III) Scholarships funded by industry and the federal government. Scholarship recipients are required to co-op and/or intern with sponsors. IV) Undergraduate Research Experiences allow university students to do meaningful research with faculty mentors in their areas of interest. Students begin to understand how what they have learned in the classroom actually applies to the real world preparing and motivating them to consider graduate school. V) Pre-College Activities and Teacher Training. MEMS has been involved in the support, design, development and implementation of various projects to encourage pre-college students to consider careers in engineering, mathematics and science. Its teacher training programs are designed to increase the pool of well-qualified mathematics and science teachers and to assist teachers in developing effective strategies for teaching math, science and technology. VI) The AMP SIPI, T-VI, UNM Valencia and UNM Los Alamos collaborations are funded by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) to increase the number of EMS students transferring from two to four-year institutes. VII) The Rio Grande and Valley Cluster Programs are partnerships with the Valley and Rio Grande clusters designed to increase the number of

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Torres, J. D., & Cummings, T. (2000, June), Minority Education In Engineering, Mathematics And Science Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8568