Diversity and Inclusion

Illustration of women avatars [View Image]

The VCU College of Engineering demonstrates its commitment to diversity through efforts to support women and underrepresented minorities in STEM.

“If you were a young woman in my office, I would say to you, ‘The sky's the limit — get moving! Come to VCU, become an engineer.’ As a woman dean, I look forward to the day when our female [engineering] population is 50 percent, and I am confident that we are on our way to making that dream a reality.”
— Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D.
Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Dean
VCU College of Engineering

2019 ASEE Diversity Recognition Program

ASEE Diversity Recognition Program Bronze Award Badge [View Image]

The VCU College of Engineering has been awarded a Bronze award by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program. The Bronze award, the highest level awarded in 2019, acknowledges VCU Engineering’s commitment to bringing women and underrepresented minorities into the field and places the college among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence.

Partner Institutions

Virginia Union University

New dual degrees with Virginia Union University, Virginia’s oldest historically black university.

John Tyler and J. Sargeant Reynolds community colleges

Partnership selected for funding by Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2018 Inclusive Excellence initiative to promote science for transfer students, especially those from underrepresented groups.

Government of Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast and VCU form partnership to improve access to lifesaving medicines.

Faculty Recruitment

Expanding female faculty in STEM: National Science Foundation grant to increase recruitment, retention and advancement of female faculty in STEM

K-12 Pipeline

VCU Engineering’s outreach efforts follow students from elementary school through high school — which makes it special when some go on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees right here.

Resources

VCU is ranked a top 100 minority degree producer by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The university is committed to diversity and access. That’s one reason students pick VCU.

By the Numbers

20% women faculty

36% increase in female undergrads since 2012

83% more degrees awarded to female students since 2009

#1 Virginia engineering school for percentage of Hispanic graduates

55% increase in Hispanic/Latinx undergraduate students since 2012

40% increase in under-represented minority students since 2014

24 Countries represented
(U.S. News & World Report)