Delaware Futures [www.delawarefutures.org] works with disadvantaged youth to prepare them for college. Students are recruited in the eighth grade. If selected to enroll in Delaware Futures, students participate in a variety of enrichment activities throughout their high school experience. Upon high school graduation, students who meet the academic requirements, qualify for partial- or full-tuition scholarships to one of 10 partnering colleges, including UD.
JETS [www.jets.org] is a leading nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to America's youth. By coordinating student competitions and providing academic resources and career exploration materials, JETS helps students make informed decisions about their futures and fosters a new generation of engineers. Of the more than 40,000 students JETS serves each year, 53 percent are from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering and technology and 36 percent of participants are female.
The GEM Consortium [www.gemfellowship.org] is a widely recognized leader in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups at the master's and doctoral levels in engineering and science. GEM provides a unique and powerful connection and partnership between a national network of corporations, universities, research centers and U.S. government laboratories. This partnership promotes the participation of underrepresented groups in postgraduate science and engineering education and the technical workforce.
Vaughan also serves on the President's Advisory Committee of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council; is investment committee chair of the national GEM Consortium and is a director of the FAME (Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering) Inc. board.
Vaughan joined UD in 1992 after serving as assistant to the dean of engineering/adjunct assistant professor of electrical engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. He also was a senior-level electronics engineer at the Naval Underseas Warfare Center in Newport, R.I.
Vaughan received his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University in 1982 and 1984, respectively. During his graduate work, he was a Micro-Electronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) Fellow. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at UD.
