White House Demo Day / en TV joins initiative to increase diversity in engineering /news/u-t-joins-initiative-increase-diversity-engineering <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">TV joins initiative to increase diversity in engineering</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-18T03:32:24-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - 03:32" class="datetime">Tue, 08/18/2015 - 03:32</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">At White House Demo Day, 92 U.S. and Canadian engineering schools committed to increase the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the profession (photo by Sara Collaton).</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/white-house-demo-day" hreflang="en">White House Demo Day</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/diversity" hreflang="en">Diversity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/asee" hreflang="en">ASEE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/american-society-engineering-education" hreflang="en">American Society for Engineering Education</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Commitment made at first White House Demo Day</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><br> The Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering has joined more than 90&nbsp;North American engineering schools in a pledge to boost diversity in the student body, faculty and profession.</p> <p><br> The commitment is expressed in a letter released by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) on the occasion of the first White House Demo Day, a gathering of innovators and entrepreneurs at which U.S. President Barack Obama made annoucements and met several exhibitors personally.</p> <p><br> TV was one of two Canadian universities included in the promise&nbsp;to recruit more women and underrepresented minorities and foster a culture of inclusivity in engineering.</p> <p><br> “TV Engineering is committed to encouraging and increasing diversity among our students, our faculty, our programs and the engineering profession,” said <strong>Dean Cristina Amon</strong>, a signatory to the letter. “Diverse perspectives deepen the engineering creative process, driving innovation and bringing superior approaches to address critical global challenges and enrich our lives.</p> <p><br> TV Engineering is a leader in Canada in fostering gender diversity. In 2014, women made up 30.6 per cent of the Faculty’s first-year engineering class – the highest proportion of any entering engineering class in Canada. (<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/u-t-engineering-celebrates-record-number-female-first-year-students">Learn more about women at TV Engineering</a>)</p> <p><br> Released as part of the ASEE Year of Action in Diversity, the letter requires participating schools to develop and implement a diversity plan that commits to equity and includes training in implicit bias. Schools are also expected to organize at least one kindergarten-to-Grade 12 (or community college) “pipeline” activity, such as targeted recruitment or educational outreach, and forge partnerships with non-PhD granting engineering schools serving populations underrepresented in engineering.</p> <p><br> Earlier this year, the Faculty was the only Canadian engineering school to join a related U.S. initiative to prepare undergraduates to solve “Grand Challenges” – complex yet achievable goals related to health, security, sustainability and quality of life. The program was presented in a letter to Obama. (<a href="http://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/university-of-toronto-joins-u-s-engineering-education-initiative-announced-at-white-house-today/">Read more</a>)</p> <p><a href="http://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/university-of-toronto-joins-u-s-engineering-education-initiative-announced-at-white-house-today/">Read the Diversity Letter on the White House website.</a></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-18-white-house-diversity-engineering.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 18 Aug 2015 07:32:24 +0000 sgupta 7209 at