The Ford/University Of Detroit Mercy Engineering Opportunity Program

This paper describes a unique high school/industry/university initiative to promote engineering to and recruit high school students. Participants in the program include Ford Motor Company, the University of Detroit Mercy, and 13 high schools. The program is unique for several reasons. The scale of participation is large: approximately one hundred people are directly involved in interactions with high school students. Each high school is assigned a team consisting of two or three Ford engineers, one or two high school teachers, one or two UDM faculty members, a UDM engineering student, and a UDM admissions staff member. The teams are charged with developing their own activities depending on student needs, interests, and team member expertise. Some of the more novel activities are described, including the founding of a junior National Society for Black Engineers chapter, small-scale experiments in UDM engineering laboratories, and participation in a public water-sampling project. The schools represent a diverse mix, enabling communication among communities normally isolated from one another. The high schools include public and private, suburban and urban, with some serving primarily African American and Hispanic communities. The motivation for the program was a survey of high school math and science chairpersons to gain insight into the causes of low engineering enrollments in Michigan and to develop possible solutions. An informal assessment of the program was performed by team members, and a more formal assessment process is being developed.