President's Perspective
By Stan Liberty
President, Kettering University
Kettering University actively engages in programs and activities that stimulate young people's interest in science and engineering. These activities range from hosting science fairs and FIRST Robotics competitions to providing regional high school students with dual enrollment opportunities in college-level courses in math and science subjects. These efforts benefit Kettering by building an awareness of the institution and its capabilities, and they open the minds of many young students to career paths that might otherwise have been missed.
Embedded is this substantial array of service activities is an impressive set of pre-college programs conducted on the University’s campus during the summer. These programs are made possible because of financial support provided by corporations, foundations, civic organizations and individuals like you. Because of the long-standing underrepresentation of minorities and women in engineering and the sciences, most of these pre-college programs focus on these underrepresented groups. Here is a brief description of the programs in the order of their inception.
Academically Interested Minds (AIM), which began in 1984, is a five-week residential program for students of color who have completed the 11th grade. It is designed to help students make a successful transition from high school to college. Students take college level courses taught by Kettering faculty, receive access to lots of hands-on laboratory experiences and visit regional companies to interact with practicing engineers and corporate leaders. AIM is open to 40 students per year from across the nation and the Bahamas. This year the AIM program was named “Pre-college Program of the Year” by The National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (see Kettering Kudos in this issue). Nearly half of AIM participants enroll at Kettering.
Kamp Kettering, initiated in 1994, is a one-week science and engineering summer enrichment program for girls entering the 7th and 8th grades. There are two sessions, each open to 24 students. Student participants learn chemistry by making soap, sharpen their computer skills and explore science and engineering career possibilities. The field trip to a science museum is always a hit.
Lives Improve Through Engineering (LITE) is a two-week residential program for 36 young women who have completed the 11th grade. The program, established in 2002, focuses on engineering for a sustainable society and bioengineering. It highlights the unique and important contributions bioengineers make when they design products like car seats, crash test dummies and artificial limbs. Participants take classes and conduct lab experiments in environmental engineering, biomechanics, vehicle collision analysis and occupant protection, and biochemistry. The program includes field trips to crash test facilities, biomedical labs and a hospital. Thirty-seven per cent of LITE participants have enrolled at Kettering.
Discover U began in 2005. Kettering and the Genesee Intermediate School District created career-oriented workshops for young women in grades 10-12. Discover U consists of eight, all-day "discovery" programs that allow up to 45 participants per day to learn about specific fields of engineering, applied sciences and applied mathematics, as well as college life.
Sustainable Energy - Get Energized! was established in 2007. This newest pre-college program at Kettering provides hands-on experiences focused on energy and energy technologies. There are two sessions with 32 students in each. Participants race miniature cars powered by energy systems they create themselves (clever use of rubber bands and simple fuel-cell systems). There is a fun field trip, too. This program is open to young men and women in grades 9-12.
For more information about Kettering's pre-college programs, visit http://www.kettering.edu/futurestudents/precollege/.
To request an issue of Kettering Perspective, contact us at
Kettering Perspective, Office of PR & Communications, 1700 West Third Avenue, Room 4-934 CC, Flint MI 48504.
810 762-9538 voice; 810 762-7435 fax; gerwin@kettering.edu