A Promise Deferred

Statistics are presented revealing the insufficient growth of students enrolled in engineering in general and civil engineering in particular since 1985. The percentage of women and members of minorities in engineering schools, however, has increased during this period. Since the overall population growth of minorities is growing at a rapid pace, it is stressed that more should be done to channel students from these groups into engineering and science careers. This means raising academic standards and performance during the precollege years to ensure that students who graduate from high school have a background in math and science that will enable them to pursue a technical degree. The work being done by various organizations in this area is surveyed, and the important role played by minority engineering program administrators at engineering institutions is cited.