We are living in extraordinary times as citizens of the United States and the world. Digital transformation is affecting everyone and everything we do; globalization is a disruptive force to our business, industry, and societal structures; and climate change is an existential threat to humanity. In the United States, racial inequities are finally being recognized by many, and we are beginning to seek solutions that will finally lead to a nation that practices the idea that all are created equal.
How many creative problem solvers who would have become excellent engineers have we driven from our programs or never given an opportunity over the years? How many inventors and entrepreneurs have we failed to inspire to join our ranks? How many out-of-the-box thinkers have we lost from engineering due to the rigidity of our curriculum? For at least 50 years, we have endeavored to diversify the engineering profession with marginal success. Deficit-based efforts have attempted to “fix” underrepresented groups so that they could fit into the culture of engineering, but the systemic challenges facing diverse, aspiring engineers runs much deeper.
In June 2020, the current president of ASEE, Sheryl Sorby, challenged members to review the current state of engineering and engineering technology education in preparing engineers. This timely call is to create a Task Force to take a fresh look at the preparation of engineers and ways to fundamentally improve the access, diversity, success, and preparation of undergraduate engineering students. Their efforts will build upon the foundational work of the 1955 Grinter Report, which still has a significant influence on today’s engineering curricula. The Task Force will meet in an effort to develop recommendations for systemic engineering curriculum changes. A report will be written and shared with ASEE members and others as a guide to create the Engineering Mindset of the Future.
The Steering Committee recognizes the challenges facing the preparation of engineers and the daunting task required to systemically change the way engineers are prepared and have a plan to move forward. That plan includes the definition of the scope and charge for the full Task Force to accelerate the work of the Task Force. The full Task Force will be meeting in a series of facilitated workshops early in 2022. The goal of this proposed workshop series is to develop a roadmap for creating an inclusive, flexible, humanized, and multipath engineering curriculum for all learners that prepares engineers with the growth mindset required for a successful and unseeable future as engineers. Two key questions will be central to this effort: (1) What needs to happen, system-wide, to attract and retain a more diverse population of engineering students, and (2) How can we overcome the challenge of faculty adoption? Addressing both of these questions is vital to shaping fundamental, long-term improvements to undergraduate engineering education.
The true loss of human talent from engineering may never be known, but one aspect is clear: the work of this Task Force is essential. Without it, we are causing a great injustice and, furthermore, hindering our ability to solve our most challenging problems facing humanity.
This presentation by members of the Steering Committee will provide details into the proposed efforts and will seek input from ASEE members in attendance.
Dr. Gary R. Bertoline is the Dean of the Polytechnic Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Graphics Technology and Computer & Information Technology at Purdue University. He earned his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University and was on the faculty in the College of Engineering for 3 years before coming to Purdue University in 1990. Gary served as founding Department Head of Computer Graphics Technology then led the creation of the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing and the Envision Center for Data Perceptualization.
He co-founded the Indiana Next Generation Manufacturing Competitiveness Center (INMaC) as well as the Polytechnic Institute initiative at Purdue University. The Polytechnic initiative at Purdue is a major effort to transform the learning experience of students to better prepare graduates for life and work in the digital age. Gary also is the visionary leader for the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools located in Indianapolis and South Bend, IN, which are charter schools with more planned. The high schools will help close the educational gap for many underserved students in the State of Indiana.
He has authored numerous papers in journals and trade publications on engineering and computer graphics, computer-aided design, and visualization research. He has authored and co-authored seven text books in the areas of computer-aided design and engineering design graphics with one, Fundamentals 3D Solid Modeling and Graphics Communications, currently in its 7th edition. Gary’s research interests are in scientific visualization, interactive immersive environments, intelligent manufacturing, distributed and grid computing, workforce education and STEM education. Before entering higher education, Gary was a middle and high school technology teacher for seven years in Ohio.
Dr. Kelly J. Cross, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Nevada Reno, is a culturally responsive practitioner, researcher, and educational leader. She earned her bachelor's of science in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 2007 and master's of science in materials science and engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2011.
After completing the doctoral program in the Engineering Education Department at Virginia Tech in 2015, Cross worked as a postdoctoral researcher with the Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she worked to redesign the curriculum through the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) program in the Department of Bioengineering.
A member of the ASEE Leadership Virtual Community of Practice (LVCP) that organizes and facilitates Safe Zone Training workshops, Cross has conducted workshops on managing personal bias in STEM and promoting inclusion in higher education, online and in-person. Her research interests include diversity and inclusion in STEM, identity construction, intersectionality, teamwork and communication skills, and educational assessment. Her teaching philosophy focuses on student-centered approaches such as problem-based learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. Her complementary professional activities promote inclusive excellence through collaboration.
Dr. Joel Alejandro (Alex) Mejia is an assistant professor of integrated engineering at the University of San Diego. His current research investigates the funds of knowledge of Latinx adolescents and how they use these funds of knowledge to solve engineering problems in their communities. Mejia is particularly interested in how Latinx adolescents bring forth unique ways of knowing, doing, and being that provide them with particular ways of framing, approaching, and solving engineering problems.
He is also interested in engineering and literacy education for equity, engineering literacies in K-16 settings, equity-oriented instructional strategies that support engineering activity, the use and application of critical theories in engineering education, and the development of critical consciousness in engineering through social justice.
In spring 2019, Mejia was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER grant to promote Latinx success in the field of engineering. This is the NSF's most prestigious award in support of faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and was the first ever NSF CAREER grant awarded at USD's Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering.
A former Gates Millennium Scholar and CADRE Fellow, Mejia received his Ph.D. in engineering education from Utah State University, M.S. from the University of Utah, and B.S. from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Karan L. Watson has served as provost and executive vice president since July 28, 2009 (interim for 18 months). She previously served as vice provost at Texas A&M University from December 2008 to July 2009 and as dean of faculties and associate provost from February 2002 to December 2008. She joined the faculty of Texas A&M University in 1983 and is currently a Regents Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Before assuming the position of dean of faculties and associate provost, she served as the associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Engineering. She also served the Look College as associate dean for academic affairs and as a member of the Faculty Senate. She was interim vice president and associate provost for diversity from November 2005 to September 2006, a role that she again held from December 2008 until July 2009. She is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Society for Engineering Education, and of ABET. Her awards and recognitions include the U.S. President's Award for Mentoring Minorities and Women in Science and Technology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science mentoring award, the IEEE International Undergraduate Teaching Award, the College of Engineering Crawford Teaching Award, and two University-level Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students—one in Student Relations in 1992 and one in Administration in 2010. She has chaired the graduate committees of 34 doctoral students and more than 60 master's degree students. In 2003–2004, she served as a Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education. Since 1991 she has served ABET as an accreditation evaluator, as an engineering accreditation commissioner, on the Board of Directors, and as ABET president for 2012-2013. She has a B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University.