Black History Month Panel to Discuss 'Past, Present, Future' in Engineering

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From left, top row: alumni Emanuel Banks and Kelly Bryant; bottom row: Todd Kitchen Jr. and Sandra Walton.

The College of Engineering's Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is excited to host a Black History Month panel discussion titled "The Evolution of Blacks In Engineering, the Past, Present and Future" at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 via Zoom.

Featured guest panelists are College of Engineering alumni Emanuel Banks, Kelly Bryant, Todd Kitchen Jr. and Sandra Walton.

Patrice Sims, the college's assistant director of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, will moderate the discussion.

"It is important for us to continue educating our faculty, staff and students as well as the community on the importance of Black History Month," Sims said. "As we continue to embrace our past and present, the future in STEM is bright. We should continue to encourage our students to think big, and our dreams should be even bigger."

Zoom registration and details.

About the Panelists

Emanuel Banks holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer. He recently retired as deputy director and chief engineer after a 34-plus years of service with the Arkansas Department of Transportation. He directed all engineering activities for the department, which included administrative oversight for three engineering branches — planning, design and operations — totaling 3,352 employees. Banks was the first African American to hold this position. He has served as a board member of the Black Alumni Society and the Arkansas Alumni Association and currently serves as a board member on the North Little Rock Planning Commission. Since retiring, he owns and operates a construction company and engineering firm. He lives in North Little Rock.

Kelly D. Bryant, a native of Malvern, holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in environmental management from Webster University. She works as an environmental manager for Clearwater Paper Corp. and is responsible for compliance with state and federal environmental regulations and permits. She has lived in Pine Bluff since 2005.

Todd Kitchen Jr., a recent graduate, holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and works as a project engineer for Lockheed Martin Aero. He is a member of the college's Early Career Advisory Council. In addition, he is a members of the National Society of Black Engineers, Lockheed Martin Leadership Association and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Sandra Walton is a 2017 graduate of the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering. She is from Fayetteville but now lives in Georgia, where she is a process engineer for Procter & Gamble, helping to manage the process of two $350 million operations. Walton is a member of the Black Alumni Society Board, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and has had numerous leadership positions in her lifetime.