$15.5 million investment at Penn State aims to address diversity in an underrepresented field
A new scholarship program is investing $15.5 million in Penn State’s engineering program in order to fully fund a cohort of high-achieving engineering students otherwise deterred by the high cost of higher education.
The A. James and Alice B. Clark Scholars Program, found at nine other universities with top engineering programs, will provide full tuition, room and board and co-curricular activities for 10 top Penn State engineering students every year, for a total of 40 in a cohort. Penn State is promising a $10 million match — the highest university match for a private philanthropic gift in Penn State’s history — to be put into an endowment for the program.
“The foundation’s investment will further our goals of access, affordability and diversity, and will advance the Open Doors imperative of the ‘Greater Penn State’ campaign,” said Penn State President Eric Barron Monday morning. “It will create life changing experiences for talented Penn State students who might not otherwise be able to afford a top notch education in engineering.”
Justin Schwartz, dean of the College of Engineering, said engineering has long had a diversity problem. Through the Clark Scholars Program and other initiatives, the college aims to aggressively recruit women — aiming for 50% undergraduates by 2026 — and underrepresented minorities both in faculty and student populations.
“Not only should our student groups be more representative of the world around us, but by increasing numbers, we’ll have a direct impact on representation in industry,” he said. “Our industry partners recognize that there’s a significant need to not only increase entry of students into the workforce, but to also fix the leaky pipeline through which young, underrepresented engineers frequently leave industry. Cultural change is required.”
The goal, he said, is to focus on equity, not equality, because the latter assumes all students start from an even playing field. Due to pre-college educational disparities, different career messaging and lower exposure to engineering role models, women and underrepresented minorities often start at a disadvantage to their male, white and wealthier counterparts.
But Schwartz said he wants to see all engineering students come away from Penn State with a better understanding of equity and how a more equitable field improves outcomes for all.
Tonya Peeples, associate dean for equity and inclusion and chemical engineering professor, said Clark Scholars will be selected based on academic merit, extracurricular leadership and demonstrated commitment to civic improvement. By providing support to bright yet underrepresented students, she said, Penn State can start to fix the “broken ladders” to success these students encounter.
“This is not a gift, this is an investment,” she said. “These students will become the engineers who will benefit society and we will have the honor of saying we had some part in their accomplishments.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 4:08 PM.
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