UA’s Engineering College Receives Funding From Bellsouth For Diversity Programming

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama College of Engineering recently received $25,000 in funding from BellSouth Corp. in support of the College’s diversity programs.

BellSouth has given the initial contribution to become a member of the Council of Partners, a group of companies created to ensure the success of the College's minority engineering programs. The Council of Partners is made up of participants that wish to support diversity programs as financial contributors, program steering representatives, program evaluators and student mentors. Council members commit a minimum annual contribution of $25,000 per year for four years to fund minority scholarships and program offerings.

"We are extremely pleased to make a significant contribution to the College of Engineering," said Tom Hamby, Alabama president of BellSouth Corp. "Over the years, BellSouth has invested heavily in education at all levels, including colleges and universities, because we feel education improvement is the critically important issue in Alabama. We want to do our part in the efforts toward that improvement, and to be able to select future employees who come from an educational system that prepares them adequately to meet today’s challenges in our industry," Hamby said.

"In addition, this contribution supports BellSouth’s objective to promote diversity in the workplace," he added.

Currently, 20 percent of the UA College of Engineering’s undergraduate population are minorities (African American, Hispanic and Native American). 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 engineering college has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving educational opportunities for minorities in the engineering profession.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.