During Women’s History Month in March 2021, USBE magazine invited three engineering deans from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to reflect on 2020 institutional reports.
In "Reset to Rise: A New Day," the deans discussed the disruptions that required their engineering schools and other academic institutions to restructure operations, including the transition to distance learning, digitization of curricula, and adapting hands-on lab work, studio arts, and clinical rotations to online formats.
They also highlighted challenges in technical training, platform management, and financial instability caused by losses in auxiliary revenues such as campus housing, dining, and facility rentals.
Additional concerns included declining enrollment, international travel restrictions that reduced international student tuition, and diminished social connectedness, all of which negatively impacted student well-being.
Many students faced unstable internet access, inadequate hardware, and a lack of quiet study spaces. Campus closures left vulnerable and low-income students coping with job losses, evictions, and difficulty affording necessities.
On Leadership and Creating Opportunities for the Next Generation
More recently, Joyce Shirazi, Kim Jones, Stephanie Luster-Teasley, and Pam Obiomon, the deans of engineering at Hampton, Howard, North Carolina A&T State, and Prairie View A&M universities, sat down with WeHBSeeU TV's Derin Lynch to discuss research, innovation, leadership, representation, and creating opportunities for the next generation.
WeHBSeeU TV is a weekly web series and midweek motivation program designed to highlight research, innovation, and leadership at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Click here to watch WeHBSee U: "Making the Dean's List" and learn how these engineering deans are leading in education and their paths to leadership.