Simonson and STEP: a Bright Future for STEM

It’s true that University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) engineers better, and now, with the help of the National Science Foundation (NSF), they recruit better too. NSF recently awarded CEAS the “Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Undergraduate Engineering Students” Award for its dedicated and vastly improved recruitment efforts.

This success is one of the outcomes of the NSF’s Planning Grant, Bridges to Engineering Education (BEE). Participants in the grant held focus group meetings with teachers and administrators from 14 school districts. They also conducted secondary school and university student surveys. Based on the findings, an alliance was formed among UC engineering faculty, teachers and administrators from 18 school districts within a 60-mile radius of Cincinnati to develop this project that targets the 159,623 students enrolled in these districts' public schools. The student population consists of about 41 percent minority and 49 percent female students, and about 29 percent of these students have indicated an interest in engineering.

Bridges to Engineering Education is one project among several that compose NSF’s STEP* Program. STEP seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project focuses on recruitment and retention. Included among the strategies being used are pre-college activities and a summer institute for high school students, both six-week and one-week summer bridge programs, peer, corporate and faculty mentoring, supplemental instruction, and both summer and academic year undergraduate research opportunities.

CEAS Director of Academics and Director of the Emerging Ethnic Engineers Program (E3) Kenneth Simonson was offered and has agreed to serve on the STEP advisory board for 2012-2013. The STEP advisory committee provides advice about all components of the STEP project through community-building activities such as STEP Central, meetings and webinars.

This is a singular honor for Simonson as he has not yet served as a principal investigator on a project. However, his passion makes him the perfect candidate for the committee. Simonson continuously works to guide students to academic as well as personal success. The E3 Program encompasses his goals as it is a comprehensive, nationally respected program which seeks to increase the number of African-American, Latino and Native American students in the college and then helping these students achieve excellence in college and beyond.

Simonson joined UC as the assistant director of the E3 Program in 1989 and was promoted to the director’s position in 1996. In 2001, he was appointed a director of academics. Simonson has his bachelor's of arts degree in Ethnic Studies, African American Studies and Sociology from Bowling Green State University.

It’s dedicated mentors like Simonson and innovative education plans like STEP and BEE that keep UC CEAS engineering education on the cutting edge.