New engineering center to enhance education, resources for Nebraska's students

To help meet the dramatically increasing demands for workforce in engineering, computing and construction, a new center in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Engineering will work to transform the engineering educational experience and make resources and opportunities accessible to all Nebraska students.

With a two-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Nebraska Engineering Inclusive Excellence Center will focus on the recruitment, education and retention of students from a wide variety of backgrounds, particularly residents of rural areas.

“To meet the workforce demands for engineers in Nebraska, we need to attract a broader array of high school graduates to the college,” said Lance C. Pérez, dean of engineering. “This requires us to adapt our recruitment and retention strategies to the changing demographics of Nebraska high school graduates and to build relationships with schools and communities across the entire state.”

Incorporating the college’s unique Complete Engineer program, which for nearly a decade has enhanced student success through a comprehensive technical foundation and six core non-technical competencies, the center will focus on: 

• Strengthening community ties and collaborating with high school educators to inspire Nebraska’s youth to study engineering and discover career pathways;
• Developing comprehensive peer-mentoring programs that support pre-college and current engineering students;
• Fostering a faculty committed to innovative educational approaches, student mentoring and the scholarship of engagement.

With companies across Nebraska eager to fill job openings, the center is poised to help meet those demands, said Yusong Li, associate dean for faculty and inclusion in the college and a co-investigator on the project.

“As the only engineering college in Nebraska, we must represent and serve the state as its needs grow and change,” Li said. “We have to find ways to increase pathways for students to become engineers. Doing that requires a strong foundation.”

The center will scrutinize current programs aimed at helping students complete their degrees and incorporate new strategies, such as tailoring peer mentoring programs to connect students with complementary experiences.

The center also will build on current efforts that encourage faculty to use new methodologies and technologies to meet students’ changing academic needs.

In January 2024, the college opened Kiewit Hall, a six-story, $115 million hub for engineering education. The premier facility is designed to accommodate new approaches to teaching, particularly increased engagement between faculty and students and evidence-based instruction, which support better learning outcomes.

Tareq Daher, associate professor of practice in engineering education and director of the Engineering and Computing Education Core, and Jessica Deters, assistant professor of engineering education, are co-investigators on the project. They are joined by Trish Wonch Hill, research associate professor of sociology, and Ursula Nguyen, assistant professor in elementary mathematics education, both in the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education. 

“We are very excited to have been awarded this competitive grant from the National Science Foundation to continue to accelerate our efforts to make an engineering education accessible to more Nebraska high school graduates,” Pérez said. “With this grant, more Nebraskans will have the opportunity to experience the success that careers in engineering, computing and construction provide.”