UC's Emerging Ethnic Engineers Program Helps Under-Represented Students Through the Summer Bridge Program

Twenty-four students checked into Turner Hall on Sunday, June 19, for the 17th annual Summer Bridge Program sponsored by

Emerging Ethnic Engineers

(E3). This successful six-week summer program is now winding to a close with a presentation luncheon on

Friday, July 29

, at the Faculty Club on the UC Uptown campus.

The program is open to incoming first-year, under-represented ethnic students who are enrolled in the College of Engineering. Students live on campus as they attend a program that’s similar to what they’ll experience in the fall quarter. From 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day, students take courses in calculus, chemistry, English and physics with mandatory study sessions each night. In addition, the students take a course that shows them how to stay successful in college.

Students receive college credit for the English course, reducing their course load for the following fall. UC’s Emerging Ethnic Engineers program covers all of the students’ costs, including room and board. Students who complete the summer program will receive a $3,000 scholarship ($1000 per quarter) from the College of Engineering. Students who pass English during the summer receive advance standing for English 101. The textbooks used in the program are for the students to keep and use during their freshmen and sophomore years.

The Emerging Ethnic Engineers Program is an academic program that seeks to increase the numbers of underrepresented students (African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American) who enroll and graduate from the College of Engineering. E3 is the model program at the University of Cincinnati for retaining and graduating ethnic students.

A driving force for E3 has been Edward Prather, assistant dean for Emerging Ethnic Engineers. Prather came to the College of Engineering in 1988, recruited from Stevens Institute of Technology by former Dean Papadakis. He built the Minority Engineering Program into a coordinated group of experiences that encourages students toward science and engineering careers, beginning with programs for children in grade school. Prather retired due to continuing health problems effective July 1, 2005.

Because of successful programs like E3 and its Summer Bridge, the University of Cincinnati was recently ranked as one of the top 50 producers of African-American baccalaureates in engineering, according to the June 2 issue of Black Issues in Higher Education.

For More Information Contact

Kenneth Simonson

, Director of Academics,

Emerging Ethnic Engineers

program

(513) 556-1164