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The University of New Orleans has received a $1.2 million grant to grow and diversify its engineering school, and to retain women and minority students in the field.

The National Science Foundation grant will fund the creation of the Center for Equity and Diversity in Engineering, within UNO's Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering.

We know we dont have enough scientists and engineers, said UNO President John Nicklow, an engineer and engineering professor. Ultimately what its going to take is breaking down some historical barriers that prevented, particularly women and racial and ethnically underrepresented, students from being engineers, whether its preparation or the nurturing or the support, whatever it is.

UNO is the only school in the New Orleans area that offers civil, electrical and mechanical engineering programs. Nicklow said the university's Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering is one of five programs of its kind in the country.

"We're well positioned to do this," Nicklow said.

The center aims to diversify enrollment in the school's Engineering Department so that it more accurately reflects the demographics of the New Orleans area. Other aims are to increase first-year retention rates and graduation rates of historically underrepresented engineering students and to grow the percentage of graduates who are women.

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Of the 1,000students in UNO's engineering school,17% to 18% are Black, a level that exceeds the national average of 5% but is far below the demographics of New Orleans, Nicklow said. UNO aims to raise the percentage of Black students enrolled in engineering to at least 30%.

Nicklow said the center also hopes to improve retention rates of engineering students, which are 71% overall but 55% for Black students. The retention rate for women students is 76%, but only about 16% of engineering grades are women, Nicklow said; UNO hopes to increase that number to 25%.

UNO has a variety of strategies, including ramping up recruitment, starting with outreach to middle and high schoolers. It will create more supports for engineering students, including a summer bridge program, peer mentoring and tutoring and affinity groups for minority and female students. Faculty and staff will undergo professional development focused on equity and inclusion.

The center will track program data over time and conduct surveys and interviews.

The path to engineering traditionally has not been very diverse or inclusive, and if were going to grow the engineering workforce, particularly in southeast Louisiana and New Orleans, were going to have to make sure that we become a more diverse discipline," Nicklow said.

Marie Fazio writes forThe Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate as a Report For America corps member. Email her at MFazio@theadvocate.com or follow her on Twitter @mariecfazio.

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UNO has received a $1.2 million grant to diversify its engineering school - NOLA.com