Check out some of our Diversity Activities here.
All of the Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility Center’s partnering universities are committed to increasing faculty, staff, and student diversity. We strive to design/develop activities to prepare a highly-trained workforce multiethnic workforce to address complex issues in the transportation industry. While all of our affiliates work to increase diversity within our consortium, two of our partners are HBCUs, and lead these initiatives.
South Carolina State University: The only HBCU to be ranked as an over performing College in the U.S. and No# 5 among national public HBCU’s by U.S. News and World Report. Currently at SCSU, 95% students are African-American and 54% Female. Managed by South Carolina State University, the Savannah River Environmental Science Field Station (SRESFS) is an established partnership between government agencies, the private sector, and academic institutions. The MS in Transportation (MST) program at SCSU is a prime example of a multi-disciplinary education program that lends itself to students of all backgrounds and diversities. In addition, the general commitment to diversity of the partnering universities, the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center (JECUTC) at SCSU has the specific mission of increasing minority and women in the transportation workforce.
Benedict College: As South Carolina’s second oldest HBCU, Benedict College strives to increase diversity in workforce of the Nation. The College has been hosting numerous programs for minority students to enhance their academic success and self-efficacy such as Youth Leadership Institute, Language Arts Camp, and Summer Transportation Institute. Programs typically involve 20-30 middle school and high school students. Specifically, in STEM College has been active member of LS-SCAMP program which supports students aiming for PhD studies. Recently funded by NSF (2015), the program provides courses in mathematics, writing, engineering, and life sciences for 15-20 high school students to transition them to the college life.
To reach the pool of underrepresented students, the C2M2 recruits students who attend SRESFS programs, at the member HBCUs, and other nearby universities. We expect to develop our SRESFS collaboration into a pipeline for students to enroll in graduate school at CU or USC. As part of their studies, these students will serve as teaching assistants at the Field Station, to demystify graduate school for the undergraduates. We also seek assistance from the Clemson University Program for Educational Enrichment and Retention (PEER), to involve underrepresented graduates in our research activities. The PEER director helps monitor the progress of minority students involved in C2M2 activities and provide additional mentoring support. The Women in Science and Engineering program director provides similar support for female undergraduates involved in C2M2. The Center, with the science and engineering departments at all collaborating universities, recruit students, faculty, and staff who reflect the growing diversity of the US workforce in the undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs supported by the Center.
To date we have participated in Benedict College’s Summer Transportation Institute each year, bringing students from throughout South Carolina to our facilities where they get to interact with the Center’s current students while learning all about transportation engineering. STI students spend their time touring our labs, participating in research activities, attending lectures, and touring transportation facilities. In addition to participating in STI, Dr. Dimitra Michalaka of the Citadel, and one of our Associate Directors, has organized and led activities aimed at introducing girls to engineering, in partnership with the Society of Women Engineers and the Girl Scouts of Eastern Carolina. Another of our Diversity initiatives is to invite female engineers to speak as part of our Distinguished Speakers Series. To date we have invited several leading female engineers to speak at our events and share their expertise with our students.