Diversity In Engineering Education What Are The Perceived Issues?

At the Annual ASEE Conference in June 2004, three ASEE divisions--the Graduate Division, Women in Engineering, and Minorities in Engineering--co-sponsored a panel session on "Recruiting and Building Diversity". In this paper we summarize the issues raised by the panel members and by members of the audience in June 2004 as an introduction to a further discussion of diversity, along with a plan for action, by leading engineering educators. Issues of concern at the 2004 session included downsizing and consolidation of diversity programs, providing sufficient mentoring and role models, failure to institutionalize diversity programs, the disparity between students' and advisors' definitions of a "best fit" graduate program, the use of GRE scores in admission decisions, graduate student socialization, and the need for more information on career options early in students' college careers.