Bradley Joins White House Initiative to Increase Diversity in Engineering

Bradley University announces its commitment to join the White House for its national movement on diversity in engineering.

Dean of the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology, Lex Akers, is one of 100 engineering Deans to sign The Diversity Letter which was released by the White House on Tuesday. The goal of the initiative is to attract and retain a diverse student body and to build the pipeline for the next generation of American engineers and entrepreneurs for our workforce.

Akers says, as the Dean of Engineering and as a member of the American Society of Engineering Education Diversity Committee, he has always felt like the best design team is the most diverse. "The addition of minorities and female engineers brings more knowledge and insight to design teams. The Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology hosts a number of activities like the Lego robots and First Robotics because they attract large numbers of both minority and female participants. Additionally, we are looking forward to working with Quest Academy to excite minorities and female high school students into the engineering profession."

Those who signed the White House Diversity Letter, pledge four actions that promise to increase diversity among engineering students. First, they will develop a concrete diversity plan for their engineering programs, with input from national organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers. Second, they will undertake an annual equity and inclusion climate survey of faculty, students, and staff, with the goal of assessing and increasing the effectiveness of the Diversity Plan developed. Third, they commit to at least one K-12 Pipeline Activity with targeted goals and measures of accountability aimed at increasing the diversity of the student body in their institutions. And fourth, they commit to developing strong partnerships between research-intensive engineering schools and non-PhD-granting engineering schools serving populations underrepresented in engineering.

For more details on signatories click here. The Diversity Letter was shared as part of the White House's first ever Demo Day on Tuesday, August 4th. Learn more about Demo Day by clicking here.

To read the President's remarks click here.