oa Successfully mentoring diverse male students in Engineering at North Carolina State University: An engaged approach

Over the past three decades, the U.S. social, educational and economic outcomes for African-American and Hispanic (minority) males have been more systemically devastating than the outcomes for any other group - such as race, ethnicity, or gender group. In 2009/10, the national high school graduation rate for African-American male (AAM) students was 52%, while the graduation rate for Caucasian males students was 78%. On average, AAMs are more likely to attend the most segregated and least-resourced public schools. However, in most states, the stratification of school quality works to minimize educational opportunities specifically for African-American students. According to a 2012 National Science Foundation report, AAM students made up only 4% of the currently enrolled male students in engineering.

Therefore, there is a compelling need for a program that develops self-efficacy in Under-Represented Minority (URM) male students in engineering fields. To answer this need, professor and lifelong mentor, Dr. Christine Grant, developed the national mentored-leadership initiative program to empower URM students at the high school and the 2-year and 4-year undergraduate levels in their successful pursuit of engineering careers. This objective is accomplished by actively partnering students with senior URM mentors (i.e. graduate students, post-doctoral associates and faculty members) in targeted research, academic preparation, and professional development. Students that completed the program more likely have a stronger mathematics and programming foundations and a firm understanding of the translational aspects of their research, enabling them to make informed career choices to maximize their expertise and engineering interests. Ultimately, this outcome can be achieved through engaged participation in: a “mentoring incubator” and mentoring course led by URM full professor and lifelong mentor; weekly math and programming tutoring sessions, one-on-one meetings with an education mentor to discuss research and learning contracts, interactive seminars and roundtable discussions with mentee “success story” resource group; sessions with research group of successful URM engineering faculty; and targeted research experiences at a large research university (i.e. North Carolina State University), leveraging partnerships with agency-sponsored programs. The participated students present their final research results at a showcase event and a university-wide Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium at North Carolina State University.