The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Commits $10 Million to Improve Undergraduate Engineering Education in the Western U.S.
(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 24, 2003 ) Menlo Park, CA -- Nine public colleges and universities in nine western states will receive William and Flora Hewlett Foundation grants to fund programs to improve the quality of undergraduate education in engineering and to increase the number of engineering graduates.
These Engineering Schools of the West Initiative grants, ranging from $750,000 to $1.1 million, will support programs to increase retention and recruitment efforts, and to improve student learning through better undergraduate teaching.
The nine schools are: Boise State University, Colorado School of Mines, Montana State University, New Mexico State University, Northern Arizona University, Oregon State University, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Utah, and the University of Wyoming.
These institutions, selected for a commitment to rigorous assessment and ability to sustain long-term outcomes, will collaborate to tackle such issues as new ways to assess student learning or how to provide students with a global orientation to engineering problems.
Schools were chosen in part because their programs had the potential of providing a significant “multiplier effect” leading to a change in the institution that would also be instructive to other colleges and universities, said Initiative Director Richard Reis. “We really believe that the whole can be greater than the some of the parts,” Reis said. “By bringing representatives from the nine schools together on a regular basis the Foundation expects to have a much wider impact on engineering education than would be possible with just stand-alone programs.”
The three- to five-year grants will support programs ranging from summer projects that target high school students from traditionally underrepresented groups to the development of team-based collaborative learning courses that mirror how engineering is done in industry. Others will develop curricula to help engineering students understand the ethical issues and responsibilities of professional engineers.
The awards are being made in honor of William Hewlett, co-founder of the Hewlett Packard company. Mary Jaffe, Hewlett's daughter and Foundation board member, remembers her father saying that the graduates of the state engineering schools were the backbone of HP's success.
“The Hewlett Foundation hopes that this initiative will serve as a model for future directions in the improvement of engineering education throughout the United States,” said Hewlett Education Director Mike Smith.
“In memory of Mr. Hewlett, the Foundation is providing assistance to several of these institutions as both a measure of its appreciation for the societal contributions of their engineering alumni and as a way to help improve the quality and quantity of engineering graduates,” Smith said.
The Hewlett Foundation, incorporated as a private foundation in California in 1966, was established by the late Palo Alto industrialist William R. Hewlett, his wife, Flora Lamson Hewlett, and their eldest son, Walter B. Hewlett. The Foundation's broad purpose is to promote the well-being of mankind by supporting selected activities of a charitable nature, as well as organizations or institutions engaged in such activities. Further information can be found at: http://www.hewlett.org/.
Contact:
Richard Reis
650-234-4500 X5624
650-725-0919
rreis@hewlett.org
These Engineering Schools of the West Initiative grants, ranging from $750,000 to $1.1 million, will support programs to increase retention and recruitment efforts, and to improve student learning through better undergraduate teaching.
The nine schools are: Boise State University, Colorado School of Mines, Montana State University, New Mexico State University, Northern Arizona University, Oregon State University, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Utah, and the University of Wyoming.
These institutions, selected for a commitment to rigorous assessment and ability to sustain long-term outcomes, will collaborate to tackle such issues as new ways to assess student learning or how to provide students with a global orientation to engineering problems.
Schools were chosen in part because their programs had the potential of providing a significant “multiplier effect” leading to a change in the institution that would also be instructive to other colleges and universities, said Initiative Director Richard Reis. “We really believe that the whole can be greater than the some of the parts,” Reis said. “By bringing representatives from the nine schools together on a regular basis the Foundation expects to have a much wider impact on engineering education than would be possible with just stand-alone programs.”
The three- to five-year grants will support programs ranging from summer projects that target high school students from traditionally underrepresented groups to the development of team-based collaborative learning courses that mirror how engineering is done in industry. Others will develop curricula to help engineering students understand the ethical issues and responsibilities of professional engineers.
The awards are being made in honor of William Hewlett, co-founder of the Hewlett Packard company. Mary Jaffe, Hewlett's daughter and Foundation board member, remembers her father saying that the graduates of the state engineering schools were the backbone of HP's success.
“The Hewlett Foundation hopes that this initiative will serve as a model for future directions in the improvement of engineering education throughout the United States,” said Hewlett Education Director Mike Smith.
“In memory of Mr. Hewlett, the Foundation is providing assistance to several of these institutions as both a measure of its appreciation for the societal contributions of their engineering alumni and as a way to help improve the quality and quantity of engineering graduates,” Smith said.
The Hewlett Foundation, incorporated as a private foundation in California in 1966, was established by the late Palo Alto industrialist William R. Hewlett, his wife, Flora Lamson Hewlett, and their eldest son, Walter B. Hewlett. The Foundation's broad purpose is to promote the well-being of mankind by supporting selected activities of a charitable nature, as well as organizations or institutions engaged in such activities. Further information can be found at: http://www.hewlett.org/.
Contact:
Richard Reis
650-234-4500 X5624
650-725-0919
rreis@hewlett.org
Contact Information:
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
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The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
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