Scholarship Created for Students in Engineering Career Awareness Program

Photo by Russell Cothren, University Relations

Students in the College of Engineering's Engineering Career Awareness Program will be eligible for scholarship support thanks to a gift from The Hearst Foundations.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Hearst Foundations have made a $150,000 gift to the Engineering Career Awareness Program, or ECAP, in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. The contribution will support Campaign Arkansas and provide scholarship assistance for ECAP students through The Hearst Foundations Diversity in Engineering Scholarship.

ECAP is a recruitment-to-graduation diversity initiative started in 2007. It is designed to increase the number of underrepresented students with financial need who are entering and graduating from engineering disciplines by removing traditional barriers to success. The impact of ECAP in the College of Engineering at the university has been significant, with a 286 percent increase in enrollment of ethnic minority undergraduate engineering students. The college has nearly tripled the number of female students over the last five years as well.

On average, 75 percent of ECAP students graduate with a U of A degree in six-years, as compared to 63.6 percent of the overall undergraduate engineering population. Because of its success, ECAP has received national and international recognition as a model program for higher education institutions and has since been replicated at other engineering colleges.

"This program has seen amazing success," said John English, dean of engineering. "It has changed the face of our student body, and many graduates of this program are already establishing impressive careers, as well as staying engaged with their communities and with the university. The College of Engineering is so grateful to The Hearst Foundations for helping to ensure this program can continue to offer these opportunities."

The funding provided by The Hearst Foundations will support scholarships for incoming freshman in the fall 2017 ECAP cohort, and the scholarships will remain with the students for four years, as long as they remain enrolled in ECAP.

"Grants toward efforts like the U of A Engineering Career Awareness Program are an example of our commitment to help leading academic centers respond to the country's evolving STEM needs," said Paul "Dino" Dinovitz, Hearst Foundations executive director. "The Foundations are pleased to provide continued financial support for engineering students in Arkansas." 

The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services. The foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.

The Hearst Foundations initially invested in engineering education diversity at the U of A in 1991, when they awarded their first grant to support doctoral fellowships for female and minority engineering students. The organization also made additional gifts to the Hearst Doctoral Fellowships during the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which continue to be awarded. In 2010, The Hearst Foundations made their first grant award to ECAP by supporting the ECAP Scholarship Fund.

About Campaign Arkansas: Campaign Arkansas is the ongoing capital campaign for the University of Arkansas to raise private gift support for the university's academic mission and other key priorities. The campaign's goal is to raise $1 billion to support academic and need-based scholarships, technology enhancements, new and renovated facilities, undergraduate, graduate and faculty research, study abroad opportunities and other innovative programs. The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in a wide spectrum of disciplines as it works to fulfill its public land-grant mission to serve Arkansas and beyond as a partner, resource and catalyst.

About the College of Engineering: The University of Arkansas College of Engineering is the only comprehensive doctoral-granting engineering program in the state of Arkansas. The college offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in nine engineering fields, as well as incorporating distance learning and interdisciplinary programs. Faculty in the College of Engineering conduct research in many key areas, including electronics, energy, healthcare logistics, nanotechnology, transportation and logistics.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines.