Written by Mike Koon, The Grainger College of Engineering
ASEE Bronze imageThe Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received the Bronze Award as part of the American Society of Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Diversity Recognition program. Illinois was among those Bronze Recipients who also earned “exemplar” status – the highest distinction for diversity work given by the national society this year.
In January 2017, the ASEE Engineering Deans Council issued the ASEE Deans Diversity Pledge. Colleges who sign the pledge agree to develop a diversity plan that states priorities and goals; commit to equity, implicit bias and inclusion training; commit to at least one K-12 or community college pipeline activity aimed at increasing the diversity and inclusiveness of the engineering student body; promise to develop strong partnerships between research-intensive engineering schools and non-PhD granting engineering schools serving diverse populations in engineering; and advocate for strategies to increase diversity groups in faculty.
Johnson is chair of The Grainger College of Engineering Diversity Committee.“We still have a lot of work to do, but the ASEE award is recognition that we’re making progress,” said Harley Johnson, professor in MechSE and Chair of The Grainger College of Engineering Diversity Committee. “So the Bronze Award is encouraging, and it reminds us to keep working. Diversity and inclusion are important parts of our excellence in The Grainger College of Engineering.”