DEANS ZERO IN ON DIVERSITY

The ASEE Engineering Deans Institute (EDI) is an annual meeting among engineering deans, industry leaders and those in important roles in research and government to gather and focus on a topic of timely relevance to engineering and engineering education. Deans share best practices, learn about career prospects for their graduates and develop a voice for engineering education and the role of engineering in society. The EDI, sponsored by the Executive Board of the ASEE Engineering Deans Council, encourages the cultivation and amplification of collaborative relationships among engineering education stakeholders from across the nation.

From April 15-1 8, deans of engineering gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the 2007 EDI, entitled "Diversity in Engineering." The event was packed with energetic dialogue on the role of diversity in engineering education, both in the recruitment of engineering faculty and in the admission of students. The discussions placed an emphasis on the importance of stakeholder collaboration to encourage interest in engineering among students at the K-12 level, with particular attention paid to diversity in the engineering pipeline to graduate schools. The meeting also contained an industry-sponsored executive panel that discussed the economic imperative of diversity in engineering education, and a dialogue centering on diversifying the US engineering workforce.

Keynote speakers at the event included Dr. Shirley Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Lynn Dugle, Vice President, Engineering Technology and Quality for Raytheon Network Centric Systems; Ursula Burns, Senior Vice President and President, Business Group Operations, Xerox Corporation; Robin Willner, Vice President, Global Community Initiatives, IBM; Dr. Ioannis N. Miaoulis, President and Director, Boston Science Museum; Carol Bartz, Executive Chairman of the Board, Autodesk, Inc; Dr. Ray M. Haynes, Corporate Director, Technical Alliances Center, Office of Programs and Technology, Northrop Grumman Corporation; and Xavier Fouger, Director, PLM Academy, Dassault Systemes, Inc.

Copyright AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION Sep 2007
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