Surmounting the Barriers

Surmounting the Barriers: Ethnic Diversity in Engineering Education is the summary of a workshop held in September 2013 to take a fresh look at the impediments to greater diversification in engineering education. The workshop brought together educators in engineering from two- and four-year colleges and staff members from the three sponsoring organizations: the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering and the American Society for Engineering Education.

While the goal of diversifying engineering education has long been recognized, studied, and subjected to attempted interventions, progress has been fitful and slow. This report discusses reasons why past recommendations to improve diversity had not been adopted in full or in part. Surmounting the Barriers identifies a series of key impediments, including a lack of incentives for faculty and institutions; inadequate or only short-term financial support; an unsupportive institutional and faculty culture and environment; a lack of institutional and constituent engagement; and inadequate assessments, metrics, and data tracking. The report also shares success stories about instances where barriers to diversity have been identified and surmounted, and the resources that could enable real solutions to implement steps toward progress.

• Front Matter
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• SECTION I - WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
• SECTION II - FRAMING THE ISSUE: A LONG, SLOW TREK & SECTION III - PRE-WORKSHOP PREPARATIONS
• SECTION IV - WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONS
• SECTION V - POST-WORKSHOP COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
• SECTION VI - INVITED SPEAKERS
• APPENDIX A: LIST OF ATTENDEES
• APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP AGENDA
• APPENDIX C: HIGHLIGHTS OF PRE-WORKSHOP SURVEYS
• APPENDIX D: HIGHLIGHTS OF BREAKOUT SESSIONS AND THEIR PLENARY REPORTS
• APPENDIX E: POST-WORKSHOP EVALUATION REPORT