Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 March 1991 — Page 2

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

SATURDAY. MARCH 2.1991

SPECIAL REPORT

Building the future

Not just for white men any more

By CONNIE GAINES HAYES Staff Writer

■ ocal women are seeking out one of the most 1 male-dominated fields in the United States ■* — engineering. Anita Williams. 32, a mother of four and a sophomore majoring in technical engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, thinks women are more equipped to handle science-related courses. “Nowadays, women are more proficient in subjects such as math and science to better prepare them for the long road ahead,'’ Williams said. Regardless of gender, African-American engineering students at IUPUI and Purdue University in West Lafayette receive support through campus chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers. Both the Purdue and IUPUI chapters partici-

pate in regional and national conferences, which offer members the opportunity to network with other students and professionals. The organization offers mtorial services, problem-solving assistance as well as support for aspiring engineers. “NSBE has been a soul saver for me,” re* marked Williams, who returned to college in 1989. For Aisha Lewis, a 19-year-old freshman at IUPUI, engineering studies have been rather

easy. She has been involved with engineering in one form or another since the sixth grade. “I have been in the minority engineering program for six years, so I know this is what I want to do with my life,” said Lewis, who became interested in engineering after assembling some speaker phones from scratch. “There is something so stimulating about working with my hands on a particular project,” she explained. Purdue’s chapter of NSBE was founded in

1973. IUPUI students started a chapter in 1975 because they wanted an organization that could provide the support, discipline and interaction ‘ they needed. This year’s IUPUI chapter has 40 members, a third of whom are women. NSBE now includes 150 chapters in six regions across the United States. Its purpose “is to recruit, retain and successfully graduate minority engineering students,” said Gregory Jackson, president of the Indianapolis chapter. Purdue’s minority engineering program, under the guidance of Marion Williamson Blalock, actively recruits minorities. “We do not just target an individual student but the whole school as well,” Blalock said. To reach minority students, her office schedules luncheons and teacher-counselor workshops. Blalock said more than 500 minority students have graduated from the School of Engineering at Purdue in the last decade.

Purdue counselor encouraging future engineers

NAM 1116 ncxt f cw years, a record ■nM number of minority students at Purdue University in West Lafayette will be earning engineering degrees. Many of those students will owe a debt of gratitude to Marion Williamson Blalock, director of Purdue’s minority engineering program. For more than a dozen years, Blalock has encouraged minority achievement. Enrollment of under-represented groups at Purdue has increased each year despite a decrease in the student pool nationwide and a smaller freshman class at the university. More than 400 African-American, Hispanic and Native American students are studying engineering at Purdue this fall. Blalock, originally from East Chicago, Ind., begins working with many potential engineers even before they’ve started thinking about college. She stresses the importance of educating precollege students about the value of math and science preparation. “We’ve got to get to these kids before they shut themselves out of possible careers,’’ she said. “We need to get kids thinking about what they can do and get them in the classes they’ll need. If they stan out taking general math and science, by the time they’re high school juniors and seniors, they won’t be able to take the classes they need to get into a program like engineering.” Recruitment programs target junior and senior high school students each year. For example, a summer program at Purdue encourages students to have fun while learning. “We try to show the students that science and math doesn't have to be boring,” Blalock said. “Engineering can be fun and can allow them to be creative.” High school students also can gain a better understanding of engineering through Purdue’s minority introduction to engineering program. Qualified high school juniors are encouraged to visit the West Lafayette campus for two weeks to gain a hands-on understanding of the school’s engineering program.

In addition to inviting students to Purdue, Blalock also takes Purdue to the high schools. She and college engineering students present programs at public schools in Chicago, Cleveland, Des Moines, Indianapolis. St. Louis and other Midwestern cities. Although getting minority students involved in engineering studies is imponant to Blalock and the university, this is only half the battle. Blalock also wants her students to stay on track academically so they will graduate with engineering degrees. Purdue’s recruitment and retention programs have already attracted some national attention. U.S. Black Engineer magazine cited Purdue as one of the country’s top 10 schools for graduating African-American students with engineering degrees. Purdue made the list along with historically black schools including Howard University, Prairie View A&M University and Tuskegee University. As a student adviser to the Department of Freshman Engineering, Blalock organizes and manages university programs that provide tutoring and incentive grants to students. Juniors and seniors in the Schools of Engineering provide one-on-one tutoring for minority undergraduates in calculus, chemistry and physics. Other resources include a tutorial workstation with educational software that allows students to help themselves. Incentive grants reward academic excellence. Teams of students compete for the highest grades with money going to the winning team as part of the Academic Challenge Grant. Blalock said the recruitment and retention programs are successful, with more than 500 minority engineering graduates in the last decade. Several of those graduates are still contributing to the program as minority practicing-engineer role models. “It’s really effective when program participants can see someone with a similar background get that education and be very successful," Blalock said.

Mtffon BMod(,dlraetorof Purduo University's Minority EnglnMring Program, speaking

Thomaslna Wright Is chlsf Inspection supervisor at the largest shipyard In the United States. Breaking new ground

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Most young girls don’t dream about building nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers when they grow up. And neither did Thomaslna Wright But today, as chief inspection supervisor of nondestructive testing at Newport News Shipbuilding, the largest shipyard in the United Suites, Wright is right where she warns to be. She is also one of a growing number of female employees who are moving into supervisory and management tanks in non-traditional roles. "Talent does not discriminate by gender,” says James L. Ketelsen,

chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Newport News Shipbuilding’s parent

company, Tenneco Inc.

Demographic studies indicate that two-thirds of the entrants into the workforce between now and the year

2000 will be women.

*7 believe it’s imperative that companies recognize this source of aptitude, ability and competence. Any company that continues to depend on

other subjects.” Wright said. Aftergraduating from high school, Wrightjoined the shipyard’s apprentice program and continued her education, earning a two-year degree at

a community college.

Five years later, Wright has earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology from Old Dominion Uruversity in Norfolk, Va., and now is working on her master’s

white males as its primary source of degree in business administration.

management-track employees is going to have a very limited field to choose from in the future,” Ketelsen said. “I didn’t exactly dream of working in a shipyard, but I always enjoyed math and science courses more than

To other women who are inter-

ested in moving ahead in non-tradi-tional roles. Wright says, “You have to be determined and willing to work hard. It’s not a gift. You have to

prove yourself every day.”