Clemson ranked eighth in graduating African-American engineers

CLEMSON, SC – November 23, 2011 – Clemson University ranks eighth among the nation’s universities ingraduating African-American students in engineering, according to a survey by the magazine Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Halfof the top-10 institutions in the engineering rankings are historicallyblack colleges and universities. North Carolina A&T StateUniversity in Greensboro led the list.

Among non-historicallyblack institutions, Clemson ranked between the University of Florida(No. 7) and the University of Michigan (No. 10).

We have an awesome group of students and alumni, and I’m thrilled to see us in the top 10, said Sue Lasser, director of Programs for Educational Enrichment and Retention, PEER, in Clemson’s College of Engineering and Science.

Amongother services, the PEER office pairs minority freshmen in the collegewith minority upperclassmen who serve as mentors and guides in thetransition to college life.

Prior to the program’s establishmentin 1987, Clemson’s graduation rate of African-American engineeringmajors was near the national average. It now is consistently among thehighest among non-historically black colleges and universities, Lassersaid.

The mentors through the years have made this programhappen along with college and university support and the involvement ofgovernment, industry and foundations, she said. We’ve been veryfortunate to be a part of  the Louis Stokes-South Carolina Alliance forMinority Participation, as well as receiving generous support from DukeEnergy and Fluor Corp.

Diverse: Isssues in Higher Education is anews magazine focusing exclusively on matters of access and opportunityin higher education. Launched in 1984 as Black Issues In HigherEducation, the magazine changed its name and its focus in 2005 to betterreflect minority demographics in higher education.