CoE Receives NSF Grant for Diversity Scholarships

October 19, 2007

The LSU College of Engineering has been given a $600,000 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to increase diversity within the college. This grant will be utilized by the newly formed Offices of Undergraduate Programs for Women and Minorities and the Engineering Engagement for Student Success Program (ENG2) to provide financial support to academically talented and financially in-need minority and women engineering students (S-STEM scholars). The grant will help recruit interested freshmen in this demographic, who would have difficulty attending LSU due to financial constraints. In addition, approximately 23 percent of the funds will be reserved for scholarships supporting upperclassmen needing assistance to maintain satisfactory progress at LSU because of financial limitations. The goal is to build a foundation for increasing the College’s 6th year graduation rate by three to four percent per year, over the next five years (2007-2011), placing the rate in line with the current University average for all entering freshmen.

The CoE will begin awarding scholarships to incoming freshmen beginning Fall 2008 and will support those students for four years. Upperclassmen will also be awarded scholarships in Fall 2008 for an average period of two years or four semesters. Several programs and activities will be introduced to support the recipients of these scholarships, including a summer job program, a placement activity with complete tracking, counseling for postgraduate studies, and a motivational seminar series featuring successful minority and female engineers drawn from both the local and national workforce.

Article by Collette Burke, LSU College of Engineering, (225) 578-5706, mlavall@lsu.edu

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