Parents that are looking for a program that will set your child on the path to a career in science or engineering should attend the Parent Orientation/Registration for 2017 Spring and Summer classes for the Chicago Pre-College Science & Engineering Program on Saturday, April 22 from, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Now entering its 8th year of providing innovative, age-appropriate hands-on learning activities for little engineers and young mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists, the ChiS&E program is free and open to the public. ChiS&E builds science, engineering, and math knowledge for grade levels K – 12; engages and empowers parents as valued partners in their children’s education; introduces and develops pre-algebra skills in early grades; and works with families to prepare students to succeed in undergraduate engineering and science programs in top universities.
Ivan Favila, Assistant Dean and Director of the Morrill Engineering Program (MEP) and the Center for Academic Resources in Engineering (CARE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will speak to participants on recruitment and retention of minority engineering students, a topic he is intimately familiar with.
As assistant dean at the University of Illinois, Favila contributes to the various student-centered retention and recruitment activities in the College’s Undergraduate Programs Office. At the Morrill Engineering Program, he supports underrepresented and under-served students pursuing engineering degrees while increasing the number of minority students studying engineering. Since he started at Morrill, minority enrollment in engineering has increased by 50% through structured retention initiatives and proactive recruitment strategies.
Prior to working at Illinois’ Urbana campus, he directed the Minority Engineering Program at the University of Notre Dame. On all campuses, he advised the student chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES).
Kenneth Hill, president of ChiS&E, commented “We are honored to have Ivan speak to our students and parents. He is well-known to his students and protégés as a man who will go the extra mile to promote academic, personal and professional leadership and service.”
The Spring 2017 Orientation/Registration will take place at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), 750 S. Halsted St, Chicago – Lecture Hall A. Registration is open to current and new students in grades K-6. Attendance at the orientation is mandatory for participation.
Parents must bring their child’s birth certificate and most recent report card. Parents must participate in Saturday sessions with each child in grades K – 3 and 5th grade. Current students in grades 6-8 who have completed both Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters are eligible to be considered for summer programming opportunities.
The Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program (ChiS&E) is presented in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Colleges of Education and Engineering and Department of Mathematics. Sponsors include BP, Colonel Stanley McNeil Foundation, Elasticsearch, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Peoples Gas, and Albert Pick Foundation. For more information, visit www.chiprep.org or email [email protected].
