Grant Aims to Make Engineering More Diverse

With stiff competition for spots in top engineering programs and a widening gap in the quality of preparation to enter those programs, UC Berkeley is trying to level the playing field with new funds from a state grant.

UC Berkeley's Pre-Engineering Partnership of the College of Engineering, along with Mills College and the Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville Unified school districts, was awarded a $886,857 grant on Tuesday from the California Mathematics and Science Partnership to improve K-12 math and science education programs.

The grant, which was requested in October, will be spent primarily on teacher education programs, including the development of teaching strategies for math and science classes and summer programs for teacher development.

The purpose of the grant is to encourage an interest in science and math, specifically among students from disadvantaged and racially diverse backgrounds.

"Our interest is in getting as diverse a student population as possible," said George Johnson, associate dean for special programs in the College of Engineering. "That is, to the extent that we are able to do this within the context of Proposition 209."

Proposition 209, which went into effect in 1998, eliminated affirmative action programs in public education in California.

The program's leaders said they will go as far as possible within the limits of the law to boost the representation of underrepresented minorities in math and science, specifically engineering programs.

"We are 100 percent students of color in this district," said Joe Frantz, director of curriculum and instruction for the Emeryville Unified School District. "And for these students, mathematics and science is the gatekeeper."

Frantz said these districts face specific and unique difficulties. He pointed to the fact that 84 percent of black algebra students in the Oakland Unified School District scored below or far below basic state proficiency levels. Three percent met this standard.

But despite the numbers, some students within the College of Engineering said such programs are misused.

"I guess that's what it takes to get this so-called diversity. I don't think it matters that much," said UC Berkeley freshman Rachel Brown, a chemical engineering major. "I think that it's more important that you are qualified, not what race you are."

Beyond considerations of race, the program works to aid those who are disadvantaged by weak high school preparation programs and a concurrent rise in admissions standards for engineering programs.

The UC Berkeley College of Engineering, which was recently ranked No. 1 in the world by the London Times, is a prime example of the steep competition seen by prospective students.

"We had over 700 students apply last year with 800s on the math section of their SATs," said George Gagnon, director of the Pre-Engineering Partnership. "They did that because they had the necessary course preparation and resources."

The partnership is aimed at fostering students' interest in engineering and aiding students who do not have access to courses critical to admission, such as the chance to take geometry in middle school, Gagnon said.

Gagnon recalled a recent lesson to encourage student interest, which involved determining how ancient Egyptians engineered a sarcophagus inside the pyramids using advanced math techniques and the technology of the time.

"It's important for kids to be eligible for the College of Engineering," Gagnon said. "These days, so many kids are taking AP Calculus and the SAT II Math IIC that it is critical for these kids that are capable but need a little acceleration to get that help."

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