Pre-Engineering Education Collaborative: Providing for the Education of American Indian Engineers

A Collaboration between:

College of Menominee Nation – Lead Institution

UW-Madison, College of Engineering

UW-Platteville College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science

PEEC WorkshopMinneapolis, MinnesotaDecember 15-17, 2014

Enrollment in Engineering 

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Total

UW-Madison

Native American or Pacific Islander 11 15 19 20 10 75

Other Minority (African-American, Hispanic, more than one) 109 110 116 124 152 611

Non-Minority 2537 2489 2463 2619 2692 12800

Undisclosed 59 71 83 114 91 418

Total 2716 2685 2681 2877 2945 13904

UW-Platteville

Native American or Pacific Islander 2 4 4 5 1 16

Other Minority (African-American, Hispanic, more than one) 15 16 16 14 16 77

Non-Minority 1146 1121 1134 1084 1069 5554

Undisclosed 5 8 14 16 22 65

Total 1168 1149 1168 1119 1108 5712

 

Menominee County vs. Wisconsin

Menominee County State of Wisconsin

Median Household Income $34,042 $53,103

Poverty rate (all ages) 31.7% 12.4%

Children living in poverty 44% 14%

% eligible for free lunch 74% 32%

Single parent households 42% 29%

Teen birth rate (per 1000) 99 50

Overall Obesity 38% 26.7%

Smoking during pregnancy 43% 14%

Violent crime (per 100,000) 1,062 283

Attended some college 43% 63%

Unemployment 13.7% 8.5%

An Engineering Career is not known to the native population in the CMN region.

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

• Program and courses approved by Curriculum Committee

• Hired engineering faculty• Built laboratories• Recruitment• Developed admissions process

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

Curriculum Approval Process1. College and Community membership

2. Program design approved

3. Courses developed

4. Courses approved by Assessment of Student Learning Committee

5. Curriculum Committee approval, 2 hearings

6. All courses must include language and culture

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

1st CMN PEEC graduate taking UW-Platteville courses, Fall 2013• Advocacy & academic advising • Personal & family support• Student stipend• Establish relationships with faculty

6 students currently enrolled in pre-engineering at CMN• 1 student plans to attend UW-Madison• 5 students have not decided on a University • Ongoing relationship development with current CMN students

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

Increased interest in engineering in high school students• K-12 outreach initiatives with native students• Advocacy of current UW-Platteville outreach programs• Community initiatives with native K-12 students & families• Career Exploration Fairs for native 9 -12 students

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

Better UW-Platteville brand awareness within native communities• Awareness of CMN-PEEC partnership opportunities• Community recognition of Bob’s role and the program• UW-Platteville clothing illustrates unity and identity

Partnerships in support of K-12 native student populations• Department of Public Instruction• UW Green Bay Fusion Group• Collaboration with other UW System School Recruiters• Informal support networks for native students • Partnerships with off reservation K-12 school districts

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

Increased faculty/staff support of native populations • UW-Platteville team• Cultural competency presentations• Altered teaching pedagogy• Conversations and connections with faculty and staff• Goal Setting/Transition plan for transfer students• UW-Platteville Special Programs Manager and CMN

Recruiter co-presented at the Midwest Cultural Inclusivity Conference in 2013, Building relationships between tribal colleges and traditional 4-year institutions.

Selected Highlights & Outcomes

Articulation Agreement completed• Endorsed by Colleges of EMS, BILSA & LAE and the

UW-Platteville Undergraduate Curriculum Commission • Acknowledges language and culture• Department conversations about course transfers• Identified curriculum issues beyond Associates Degree

Website• Connection with other PEEC Programs• Resources for Faculty/Staff• Infrastructure and contact point

Explore Engineering Summer Program

• 8 students from Menominee Indian, Shawano, Gresham, and West De Pere high schools participated

• Collaboration between CMN and UW-Platteville faculty• Faculty community tours and cultural events• Participants have shown increased aptitude in STEM courses• Participant family outreach and participation

Explore Engineering Summer Program

Dr. Lisa Bosman (CMN) teaching students to assess sustainability for buildings on the CMN campus

Explore Engineering Summer Program

Dr. Mike Zampaloni (UW-Fox Valley) and Dr. Jeff Hoerning working with students in Mechanical Engineering

Explore Engineering Summer Program

Dr. Cody Martin (CMN) demonstrating instruments and experiments in Engineering Physics

Future Focus

• Explore Engineering Program – Winter 2015 at CMN with

UW-Platteville, and UW-Fox Valley faculty participation• Increase visibility in Northeast Wisconsin high schools with

native student populations• Continue developing curriculum and pathways to a degree

from CMN to UW-Platteville and UW-Platteville to CMN• Extend current PEEC grant• Continue to develop awareness of Native American student

populations on the UW-Platteville campus

Current & Potential Collaborations

• Sustainable Development Institute at CMN• Sustainable and Renewable Energy Systems Major• Fish Passageways• TREES Lab• UW-Platteville native studies certificate programs• UW-Platteville Collaborative Program• NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project• Water temperature monitoring collaboration between UW-

Platteville, CMN, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Menominee Conservation Department

FUTURE OPPORTUNITY

• Distance delivery of engineering classes to the CMN CampusCohort modelCMN Faculty oversight

• Newly installed CMN technology• UW-Platteville engineering faculty and laboratory facilities on

the UW-Fox Valley campus• CMN courses to UW-Platteville and Collaborative students

Deliver Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Degrees at CMN