UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 22, Page 1
March 5, 1992
RISE nets double honors with GTE grant, GEM fellowships

     Two significant honors have come in recent weeks that
recognize the stature of the University of Delaware's RISE
(Resources to Insure Successful Engineers) Program and the students
in the program, according to Ronald F. Whittington, acting director
of the program.
     RISE is one of only 15 recipients across the nation of a 1991
GTE FOCUS Grant. The $30,000 award will be used to fund a new
undergraduate research initiative for minority engineering
students.
     The UD-GTE FOCUS initiative is designed to provide a research
experience for 10 RISE students, primarily during the winter and
spring semesters of the sophomore year, giving them both an
educational and a professional advantage. Since the experience is
scheduled early in their academic careers, Whittington said, it
will enhance their classroom experiences, and they will be better
positioned for potential participation in other research
opportunities offered through the University Honors Program or one
of the research centers within the College of Engineering.
     FOCUS students also will be prime candidates for summer work
opportunities in the engineering industry. This experience, which
exposes students to a broad spectrum of opportunities in the
engineering profession, also will enable them to begin focusing
their career goals, frequently leading them to pursue graduate
work.
     To be eligible for the FOCUS program, RISE students must have
a minimum grade point average of 2.8 at the end of the freshman
year and must be recommended by a faculty member. The student's
faculty adviser, a faculty research adviser and an experienced
engineer from industry will be part of each of the RISE Research
Teams that will be formed around FOCUS students.
     "We are very excited about the RISE Program's innovative
research component, which will enhance our students' education and
provide excellent opportunities for them to interact with our
industrial partners," Costel D. Denson, acting dean of the College
of Engineering, said.
     "The new research initiative in the RISE Program also will
provide additional resource persons to help guide RISE students
through a challenging, but rewarding, engineering curriculum,"
Whittington said.
     In another honor, two RISE students, Melvin L. Perry Jr. of
Wilmington and Arthur J. Valentine Jr. of Mays Landing, N.J., have
been named GEM Master's Engineering Fellows by the National
Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and
Science Inc. (GEM).
     Perry, received his bachelor of electrical engineering degree
from the University in January, and Valentine is a senior in
mechanical engineering.
     In a national competition involving more than 1,000 applicants
from 123 colleges and universities, 222 Engineering Master's
Fellows were chosen.
     The master's fellowships provide each recipient with a
portable fellowship, which pays tuition and fees at a GEM member
university of the fellow's choice, plus a minimum stipend of $6,000
per academic year.
     GEM is a non-profit corporation based at the University of
Notre Dame. Originally created as an outgrowth of corporate and
university concerns to increase the number of underrepresented
ethnic/racial groups who enter and complete the engineering
master's degree, GEM now offers doctoral fellowship opportunities
in both engineering and the natural sciences. Current membership
includes 81 industrial/governmental research laboratories and 70
engineering schools, among them the University of Delaware.
     RISE was established at the University in 1972 to identify and
recruit academically prepared minority students for the College of
Engineering and to assist them in meeting the college's demanding
curriculum through graduation.
     Today, 133 students are enrolled in the RISE Program, making
up approximately 14.5 percent of the College of Engineering's
undergraduate population. In the last five years, some 65 RISE
students have graduated and another 20 are expected to graduate
this year. In 1990, 11 of 19 RISE graduates went on to graduate
school.
     Whittington was named acting director of the program Feb. 17,
replacing Frank A. Wells Jr., who resigned to become director of
college relations with the National Action Council for Minorities
in Engineering Inc. A University alumnus and  member of the
University's professional staff since 1979, Whittington has served
as assistant to the president since 1988.