Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in UC Berkeley's   College of Engineering

Coalition of Underrepresented Engineering Students 

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In November 2011, I formed a student coalition aimed at increasing student diversity in the College of Engineering (COE) at UC Berkeley. 

The letter and the presentation of the demands at a November 21st College Executive Council (CEC) has received much publicity and support.

UPDATE: Working Paper Response from Sastry-Doyle administration based on CUES letter and 2009 COE promises.    



November 21st, 2011 UC Berkeley Engineering College Executive Council Meeting Video

 Recent News Articles

  • A social revolution in the College of Engineering? Just maybe.
 Berkeley Science Review, August 13th, 2012.  Excerpt: Last November, a rather inciting petition was circulated among the women and minority student groups of UC Berkeley. Directed at the leadership of the College of Engineering (COE), the petition demanded marked improvements in the College’s social climate and a massive overhaul of the failing recruitment and retention plans aimed specifically at women and minority graduate students (also termed “underrepresented engineers” or simply UEs.
  • Diversity urged at UC Berkeley engineering school, SF Chronicle, Jan. 4, 2012. Photo of Ryan Shelby and quote: "I don't want to sound crazy, but it's a question of national security," said Shelby, who grew up on a farm in Alabama. "One of the things that made this country great is that it invested in people who weren't necessarily born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It gave them resources, (creating) a strong, educated workforce.”
  • Berkeley Engineering Students Demand Greater Effort to Promote Diversity, AAAS, Science, 2 December 2011: Vol. 334, no. 6060, p. 1191.  “In 2009, the college said its strategy would work and the numbers would improve,” says Ryan Shelby, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and the driving force behind the Coalition of Underrepresented Engineering Students, whose recent letter to Engineering Dean S. Shankar Sastry prompted last week's discussion.        

  • “But in April, there was a report [from a  faculty committee] saying that what they are doing is not working, and we've collected the data to show how low the numbers really are. We've put together a plan for recruitment, retention, and mentoring that we think could really make a difference if it were implemented.” 
Figure abover shows: "Berkeley had by far the smallest percentage of underrepresented minorities in its entering 2010 class among top-25 U.S. engineering programs—and the fewest students." 
  • Cal engineering dean supports diversity plan, California Watch, Nov. 22, 2011. Excerpt: "The letter argued that even though administrators have promised in years past to address the low numbers, the situation has not improved. In 2009, the college eliminated the Center for Underrepresented Engineering Students and implemented a new organization, Engineering Student Services, which aimed to increase diversity while also benefiting all students. Two years later, the numbers have dropped. 
  • At the undergraduate level in 2010, the college enrolled two African American, three Native American and 10 Hispanic freshmen out of 474 total freshmen, for example. That compares with enrollments in 2008 of three African American, two Native American and 33 Hispanic freshmen out of 563 total freshmen, according to data from the American Society for Engineering Education. 
  • “It’s nice to know that you realize there’s a problem," said Ryan Shelby, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "But you guys realized this back in 2009. Your policies not to have recruitment and retention plans in place are causing the numbers to drop. It's not just the money." Shelby asked administrators not to “dither” on the recommendations with further reports or public statements. He called instead for action. Sastry said he couldn’t agree more."