The NDSU College of Engineering has received a Bronze Award from the American Society for Engineering Education Diversity Recognition Program. The honor means the NDSU College of Engineering is among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence.
“Knowing that we are far better together, we’ve made diversity and inclusivity core values of the College of Engineering,” said Michael Kessler, dean of engineering. “While this award is a recognition of some of our recent progress, more importantly, it’s a reminder of the work we still have to do.”
Kessler said increasing the number of women and underrepresented minority students and faculty and achieving silver status in the recognition program are among the performance goals included in the college’s new strategic plan.
The ASEE Diversity Recognition Program was created to publicly recognize engineering colleges that make “significant, measurable progress in increasing the diversity, inclusion, and degree attainment outcomes of their programs,” according to the program’s website.
The program will eventually include three levels of achievement: bronze, silver and gold. Bronze is the highest level currently being awarded. Colleges receiving the honor have demonstrated a commitment to the following outcomes:
• Establishing baseline support for groups underrepresented in engineering.
• Quantifiably analyzing and assessing unit composition, policies, culture, and climate related to all groups underrepresented in engineering.
• Implementing programs and initiatives that strengthen the K-12 or community college pipeline thereby reducing significant barriers related to long-term growth.
•Developing an action plan focused on continuous improvement.
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