TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama College of Engineering was recently ranked fourth in the nation among traditionally white institutions in the percentage of African-Americans enrolled, achieving this success after a long-term commitment to develop the potential of multicultural students toward higher rates of enrollment and graduation.

This recent ranking by the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies also reports that when including historically black colleges and universities in the statistics, the College still ranks 14th in the country in its percentage of African-American students, topping universities such as Virginia Tech, Auburn, Penn State and Purdue.

A founding member of the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering since 1976, and a member of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering Science, UA's College of Engineering has demonstrated an abiding commitment to improving educational opportunities for minorities in the engineering and computer science professions.

Dr. Timothy Greene, dean of the UA College of Engineering, says current statistics show that these goals are being realized.

"The College of Engineering is committed to having a diverse student body and workforce," Greene explained. "This commitment dates back well into the 1970s."

In order to organize efforts to increase multicultural recruitment and retention, the College's Minority Engineering Program was created in 1987, and later renamed the Multicultural Engineering Program. The program was originally established and headed by Gregory Singleton, who is now director of engineering student services for the College. The program's mission is to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of African-American, American-Indian and Hispanic students in engineering and computer science disciplines, according to Singleton.

"For the past 15 years, we have watched the number of African-American graduates increase dramatically in the College," Singleton said. "In 1987, the enrollment of African-American students was at nine percent. Today, we see over 18 percent of our student body as African-American, and for the past five years, 17 percent of the graduating class has been African-American."

To further assist with student diversity, a Council of Partners has been organized during the past year, made up of companies that wish to support diversity programs as financial contributors, program steering representatives, program evaluators and student mentors. Council members provide scholarships, along with funds to support diversity programs, including high school bridge programs, recruitment programs and retention/graduation programs. Current Council of Partners members include Southern Company, Southern Nuclear, Alabama Power, BE&K, BellSouth and USX. Each company sends a representative to meet on the UA campus twice a year to give oversight and direction to the College's diversity programs. Members also interact with students to provide mentoring and guidance to help motivate them to success.

In 2000, Miranda Carlisle was appointed as the Southern Company Multicultural Engineering Program Coordinator for the College. A five-year commitment from the Southern Company, the nation's largest producer of electricity, provided for the establishment of this new position. Carlisle manages all functions associated with the Multicultural Engineering Program, working to maximize the retention and graduation rates of minority students in the College by providing mentoring, networking and tutoring programs, and cultural and career guidance.

One of the program's efforts is the College's Student Introduction to Engineering, hosted for one week, three times each summer on the UA campus, for high school juniors and seniors. SITE participants live in residence halls, tour industries to see engineers at work, and attend mini-courses in mathematics, engineering, computer science and English. They join in panel discussions involving professional engineers and computer scientists, UA students, Cooperative Education administrators and other University staff; and at the end of their week on campus, they take part in a design competition.

Carlisle credits the high number of African-American graduates to the College's positive environment. "Much of what determines whether a minority student succeeds at a particular university has nothing to do with the academic resources on campus," she said. "These students have to feel a sense of community among their peers, and UA's College of Engineering fosters that atmosphere."

Carlisle noted that minority students are encouraged to have an active involvement with the Multicultural Engineering Program, and the level of that interaction seems to be an indicator of the likelihood of academic success and graduation for the students.

"The contact that a student has with us has proven vital to their decision to stay and make it through," Carlisle added.

The UA College of Engineering currently has about 1,900 students - more than 22 percent are from minority groups, and 18 percent are African-American.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in its state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, UA has one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country, which has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.