January 22, 2004

Troan Foundation Helps Promote Diversity in Engineering

In an effort to improve diversity in engineering, the Troan Family Foundation recently gave $40,000 to the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University. Erik Troan, head of the foundation and one of the co-founders of the Raleigh-based tech company Red Hat, made the gift to help address the shortage of minority engineers in the work force.

According to Dr. Tony Mitchell, director of minority programs for the College of Engineering, the gift will fund two key programs designed to attract more minority engineering students, to enhance the quality of their educational experience and to increase their graduation rate. Ultimately, Mitchell noted, “this money will allow us to realize an urgent need to increase the overall minority student population in engineering.”

START (Student Advancement Retention Teams), the College’s mentoring program for minority engineering freshmen, will be the first program to benefit from the gift. Now in its fifth year, the program annually selects 14 to 16 upper-class minority engineering and computer science students, each acting as a big brother or sister to as many as 10 minority freshmen.

Currently, program funds pay for these mentors as well as for structured academic and social events throughout the year. But that funding only covers the freshman year. The Troan gift will extend START through the sophomore year, affording more intense interaction as mentees begin taking formal engineering courses. For Mitchell, this extension is critical to the long-term success and effectiveness of the mentoring program. “A second year will prepare students for greater academic challenges,” he said, “and let them develop an appreciation for the mentoring role so that they can become better mentors themselves later on.”

The gift also would allow the College to fund campus visits for 60 to 75 prospective minority engineering students and their families. These prospective students would have the opportunity to shadow current students as they go to classes or work on projects, and to attend cultural or social events that might help acclimate and attract them to the campus. Information sessions on financial aid, career services, cooperative education and other topics would round out the visit.

“We greatly appreciate the support the Troan Foundation has shown,” Dean Nino A. Masnari said. “This gift will enhance current programs and create new opportunities within the College of Engineering in an area of great need.”

— pishney —

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