Center seeks to pave way for minorities

n initiative to increase the number of underrepresented minority students who earn master's and doctoral degrees in science and engineering at Rochester is under way.

The David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Science and Engineering, which takes its inspiration from Kearns '52--University trustee, former Xerox CEO, and workplace diversity activist--is being launched this fall. The nearly $1.5 million raised so far in support of the center will fund programs that recruit and retain underrepresented minorities interested in pursuing post baccalaureate degrees in those fields.

The official announcement of the new center will take place on Saturday, October 12, at 1:30 p.m. in the Interfaith Chapel. The event coincides with Kearns's 50th class reunion and a series of panel discussions and keynote addresses on diversity in higher education, which will be held Saturday during Meliora Weekend.

The Kearns Center will be overseen by William Scott Green, dean of the College, and Kevin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

"Full representation and full participation by a new generation of minority leaders in engineering and science is integral to the success of American education and to the research enterprise," says Green.

The center will eventually house programs to support underrepresented minority students from high school through the doctoral degree.

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