UC helps define national best practices in engineering inclusion

“All the people involved with NAMEPA are involved in developing engineering talent, and this is their mechanism, their support infrastructure to help educate one another on best practices to engage students in meaningful ways, from young ages to college recruitment through graduation,” said P.K. Imbrie, professor and head of the UC Department of Engineering Education, who was recently named Department Head Liaison by NAMEPA, a new position for the organization.  

Imbrie has an open mind about the new role. He envisions the initial focus will be on creating in-roads and pathways to department heads, especially those involved with engineering education, and departments of engineering education, which predominantly have first-year programs as part of their mission. University of Cincinnati is one of only a small number of universities in the nation that has a dedicated department of engineering education.  

“NAMEPA is a really neat entity because its real purpose is to support those individuals that support students,” said Imbrie, who most recently served as Corporate Advisory Board Chair for the organization, and previously served as Broadening Student Access and Success Committee Chair. 

“One of the things that we want to understand better is how to get more department heads to be stronger, more confident allies and advocates, for both the programmatic elements of the work in diversity, equity and inclusion, and also for the students as individuals,” said Imbrie. 

“I am excited to help create a national strategy to bring together the work that institutions are doing across the country to form some commonality in our work and purpose,” Gaskins said.