Bill Cosby Helps National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Celebrate 30th Anniversary.Entertainment Editors/Business Editors WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2004 Event raises record amount, exceeding $1 million scholarship goal by $4 million A who's who Who’s Who biographical dictionary of notable living people. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 922] See : Fame from the business, academic, and philanthropic communities were among the more than 600 guests who attended a black-tie gala at the Waldorf-Astoria to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. (NACME NACME National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering ). During the gala, an announcement was made to kick-off NACME's multi-million dollar Footprint Across America campaign to raise funds for minority students. NACME, the nation's largest private source of scholarships for African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. , American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. and Latino engineering students, has been a leader in promoting opportunity and inclusiveness in the fields of engineering Engineering is a collective term to describe the application of scientific theory in the design, creation, and maintenance of technology. According to 1992 NSF data, the largest fields of engineering are Civil, Electrical / Electronic, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering (by number of and technology since its inception in 1974. The result has been a growing cadre of highly skilled and educated minority engineers and future business leaders. The evening was also one of recognition and thanks. NACME honored three partners who have been with the organization since its beginning: ExxonMobil, Dr. Percy Pierre, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organization in the United States. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. . ExxonMobil received NACME's Founder's Award for its 30 years of support as NACME's largest contributor. In his response, Mr. Lee Raymond, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Exxon Mobil Corporation Exxon Mobil Corporation U.S.-based oil and gas company formed in 1999 through the merger of Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. It has investments and operations in petroleum and natural gas, coal, nuclear fuels, chemicals, and ores. said, "ExxonMobil is deeply honored to receive such recognition from this fine organization. We were an early supporter of NACME and we remain committed to this partnership to ensure that every qualified individual who wishes to become an engineer will have an opportunity to do so." Dr. Percy Pierre, a distinguished educator and public servant, received NACME's Founder's Award for his foundational contributions to NACME and for serving as an inspiration to minority students and the engineering community. In accepting the award, Dr. Pierre stated, "NACME, over its 30 year history, has provided direct support to thousands of minority engineering students and been the focal point focal point n. See focus. for collaboration and leadership for many organizations and individuals working in this important field. I am proud to accept this award from an organization that continues to be a part of America's efforts to develop and utilize its human talent." Speaking on behalf of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which received NACME's Public Service Award, was Dr. Ralph E. Gomory Trained as a mathematician, Dr. Ralph E. Gomory first became a researcher and then an executive at IBM. Through his own research he created new areas of applied mathematics and later, both participated in and oversaw, the development of a broad range of critical new technologies. , president of the Foundation. Dr. Gomory stated, "When my predecessors at the Sloan Foundation took on the mission of diversifying engineering education and the engineering workforce, they knew that the task was very significant for the country, urgent, and difficult. The Sloan Foundation is honored to receive this award from NACME and we are proud to be collaborating with NACME to continue this important work." After NACME's president & CEO, Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, announced the start of NACME's national fundraising campaign, he thanked the attendees for their continued dedication and support of NACME. "NACME has raised more than $5 million toward our goal of expanding NACME's national footprint and increasing our capacity to build the diverse engineering workforce the nation needs. It is because of our national partners that we can continue to positively impact the lives of thousands of aspiring engineers nationwide." About NACME Since 1974, NACME has provided more than $100 million to more than 18,000 minority engineering students at more than 160 colleges and universities. The funding raised through the Footprint Across American campaign will enable NACME to grow its block grant program, which will award at least $100,000 over the next five years to each of 17 partner universities. The block grants will help these institutions recruit, admit, educate and graduate even more successful minority engineers. In addition to its scholarship program, NACME has also participated in many other national efforts to build pre-college math and science programs, such as the GuideMeNACME.org Web site. NACME also publishes reliable and timely data and analysis of university performance in educating minority engineers and informs the policy dialogue on affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. , financial aid, student admissions, and workplace climate. The major sponsors of the evening included many of the nation's top corporations. Among them were Bechtel, Boeing, Booz/Allen/Hamilton, Con Edison, Dow, Eastman Kodak, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Intel, 3M, Lockheed Martin, Malcolm Pirnie, Merck, Northrop Grumman and Weber Shandwick. For more information about NACME and its 30th anniversary gala, please visit www.nacme.org. Editor's Note: Event photos are available upon request. |
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