Twenty Years of Excellence for Emerging Ethnic Engineers at the University of Cincinnati

Although a highlight of the luncheon was to be the keynote speaker — Julian Earls, PhD, former Director of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration’s Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland — the real highlight was the presentation of two $5,000 scholarships from Duke Energy and a tribute to retired Assistant Dean Edward Prather as the University of Cincinnati concluded its Emerging Ethnic Engineers (E3) Summer Bridge program with a special 20th Anniversary luncheon.

“Ed Prather has been the backbone of this program ever since he set it in place,” said Anant Kukreti, associate dean for Engineering Educational Research in UC’s College of Engineering. “We are making every effort to take it to even higher heights by revamping the programs to suit modern K–12 students and the challenges that they face.”

Leo Columbus Wilcox, one of the “Pioneers of Engineering,” the first eight African-American graduates of UC’s College of Engineering, came in all the way from Scottsdale, Ariz., to attend the banquet. He was not an alum of E3, because there was no E3 when he graduated in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He found it “academically very challenging” to be an engineering student at UC.

“They said to me, ‘Look around — two-thirds of you won’t be here,’” Wilcox said. “And I looked around and not one of them was female. Not one.”

Mitchel Livingston, vice president of Student Affairs and Services, told the gathered crowd of approximately 100 how he had the pleasure — and pain — of first meeting Ed Prather and hearing about E3.

“Ed was one of the first people I met on campus,” Livingston recounted. “He said, ‘Man, I’ve got something to tell you!’ — And then he hit me!”

“Then he told me about E3 and his vision for it and he said, ‘Do you know how many ethnic students in high school want to study engineering?’ And he gave me the number; it was a small number — and he hit me again!”

“Then he said, ‘And do you know how many of those students want to come to UC to study engineering?’ — And he hit me a third time!”

Livingston admitted that the last number was indeed small, "But the percentage was large. And Ed said, ‘What we have here is a model.’”

Dean Carlo Montemagno added that Prather's influential as Herman Schneider, former College of Engineering dean and creator of co-op education in 1906. He also noted that continuing the commitment to education of undergraduates established by Schneider and emphasized by Prather, the UC College of Engineering has now established the position of associate dean for Engineering Educational Research and an Engineering Education Department.

Associate Dean Kukreti pointed out that when he was appointed to the position, he looked for programs for women and minorities. "E3 made it easy," he said. "I thank Ed Prather for setting the stage. And the National Science Foundation is looking to us as a national model."

"We are not just housing students but educating students," said Montemagno. "We will change not just their lives, but their children's lives, and their children's children's lives. The inspiration for this falls on Ed Prather and for that I am eternally grateful."

About E3
Among the many initiatives begun by the E3 Program that have been implemented campus-wide are cooperative learning courses in calculus and physics, Learning Communities patterned after the E3 cohorts, and a campus-wide summer bridge program for incoming freshman from different disciplines.

The E3 Summer Bridge program began at UC in 1989 and has had a tremendous impact on the recruitment and graduation of African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students for the College of Engineering ever since. The program is open to incoming first-year, under-represented students of color who are enrolled in the College of Engineering. Students live on campus as they attend a program that’s similar to what they’ll experience in the fall quarter. From 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day, students take courses in calculus, chemistry, English and physics with mandatory study sessions each night.

To also help them with the transition into becoming college students, the students were assisted by GE Mentors through a long-term relationship with E3. GE has long been a supporter of UC's College of Engineering through its Rowe Center for Women in Engineering (named for the late GE Chairman Emeritus Brian Rowe) and Women in Engineering Camp.

E3 students receive college credit for the English course, thus reducing their course load for the following fall. E3 covers all of the students’ costs, including room and board. Students who pass English during the summer receive advanced standing for English 101. The textbooks used in the program are for the students to keep and use during their freshmen and sophomore years.

More than 400 students have participated in this successful residential summer program. Among the alumni are Robert Richardson, the newest and youngest member of the UC Board of Trustees, and Charles Stewart E3, a senior project manager for Turner Construction Company who is responsible for a $1 billion renovation and new building project for Cincinnati Public Schools.

“This past fall, 56 percent of Summer Bridge students earned Dean’s List honors and 75 percent had a grade point average of 3.00 or better,” says

Kenneth Simonson,

director of academics and head of E3. “In fact, 88 percent of the students will matriculate to the sophomore year.”

Joe and Patricia Soto's son, Anthony, came from Cleveland to participate in the Summer Bridge program.

"This is awesome!" said Joe Soto. "I think it's a great opportunity." His wife, Patricia, explained that they were delighted to receive the letter from the College of Engineering with news of the program. "I couldn't believe it! I hadn't even heard about the program. I'd was only aware of co-op and didn't know that they had anything like this."

"I think he's a better person for it," her husband added.

But what does Anthony think? Out of earshot of his parents even, he agreed.

"I enjoyed it. It gave me a good head start," he said. But then he adds with a laugh, "Even though at first I didn't want to come and give up seven weeks of my summer. Tomorrow I will be back at work in Cleveland."

Right now Anthony is a civil engineering major but is thinking about changing to mechanical. He feels comfortable, though, that he's in good hands and that he will be guided in making the right choice.

"The best part of E3 was getting my foot in the door early," said fellow E3 participant Dominique Haneberg-Diggs. A graduate of Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School, Dom will study mechanical engineering starting in the fall. "I now know what I'm in for and how freshman year works."

About Ed Prather
Ed Prather came to the College of Engineering in 1988, recruited from the Stevens Institute of Technology by former College of Engineering Dean Constantine Papadakis. Prather built the Minority Engineering Program into a coordinated group of experiences that propelled students toward science and engineering careers, beginning with programs for children in grade school.

Ed Prather earned his Doctor of Education degree at UC in 1996, writing his dissertation on the E3 Bridge program. Largely because of his efforts, UC has been ranked in the top 25 engineering schools that graduate African American baccalaureate degrees two of the last three years, and has been ranked in the top 50 consistently even before that. It is also a model minority retention program for other programs on campus.

In his remarks, Mitchel Livingston thanked Ed Prather.

“You have been personally a source of inspiration for what you have given this university,” he said. “When they asked me to be the Chief Diversity Officer to establish programs, I said ‘no, no, no — Ed Prather came before me.'” 

More information about E3:

UC's Emerging Ethnic Engineers Program Helps Under-Represented Students Through the Summer Bridge Program
UC’s Summer Bridge Program is a six-week residential program that assists under-represented first-year students make the transition from high school to college.