NUPRIME (Northeastern University Programs in Multicultural Engineering) records

Collection

Identifier: A069

Scope and Content Note

The NUPRIME (Northeastern University Programs in Multicultural Engineering) records document the activities of NUPRIME between 1981 and 1997, as well as other initiatives devoted to minorities in engineering managed by David C. Blackman, Assistant Dean and Director of Minority Affairs for the College of Engineering between 1975 and 1999. The collection is organized into four sections: NUPRIME, Pre-NUPRIME; NUCRCM; and Related Programs.

NUPRIME records document its programs to provide financial and academic support to NU's minority engineering students. Financial information includes fund-raising letters and reports, and grant awards and reports to the Fairchild Foundation. Also represented are student organizations overseen by NUPRIME including events and financial information related to the Black Engineering Student Society (BESS), the Haitian Student Unity Club, the Hispanic Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Society of Black Engineers. Documentation of students includes student and alumni lists from the classes of 1955 through 1994, lists of minority engineering students admitted to NU and lists of NUPRIME participants, lists of engineering students from the classes of 1978-1997 who withdrew from NU, and lists of students who participated in NUPRIME tutoring programs in1994-1997.

Both Pre-NUPRIME and NUCRCM records document efforts to develop programming to encourage pre-collegiate minority students to consider careers in engineering and science. Pre-NUPRIME materials include alumni lists for the classes of 1980-1994; communications with and reports made to co-sponsor, Sippican, Inc.; and summaries of programs offered, budgets, and enrollment figures. Materials related to the Northeastern University Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities (NUCRCM) include documents related to NSF grants, such as the 1992 grant proposal, evaluation comments from the NSF, cooperative agreements, and requests for additional funding. Also included are descriptions of NUCRCM programs for parents, teachers, and students, NUCRCM newsletters, and correspondence with the Confederation of Principals and Headmasters and with collaborating schools. Overviews of NUCRCM include a 1993 program overview, a 1994 Self-Assessment, and a 1994-1995 progress report.

The Related Programs section includes records documenting the collaborations of NUPRIME, NUCRCM, and other programs with which David Blackman was involved, with other organizations and departments at NU and in the Boston area dedicated to encouraging and assisting minorities in science and engineering fields. Materials include grant proposals prepared by Boston Public Schools in collaboration with NUPRIME and NUCRCM in 1996 and 1997, and supporting materials, such as correspondence and a recorded conference call with consulting firm Lloyd M. Cooke Associates. In addition, there are conference programs and planning records from conferences sponsored by the Education Development Center and the Principals' Institute. Materials documenting related NU programs include minutes from meetings of the Boston Group; budgets, programs descriptions, students lists, and a first year report (1992) from the Math Excel program; correspondence regarding collaborations with the Wright Center at Tufts University; and grant proposal to the National Science Foundation prepared by the School of Engineering Technology. Documentation of other programs include grant proposals, budgets, and program descriptions created by the Massachusetts Pre-Engineering Program (Mass-PEP); committee meeting minutes, reports, and strategic plans developed by Partnerships Advancing Learning of Mathematics and Science (PALMS); and a proposal to create a science and math charter school in Boston.

Dates

Creation: 1981-1997
Creation: Majority of material found within 1992-1996

Creator

Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Programs in Multicultural Engineering (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access:

Records are closed for 25 years from the date of their creation, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office. Student records (box 1, folders 7, 16, 21, 23, 24; box 4, folders 78, 86) are restricted for 75 years from the date of creation.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:

Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the University Archivist.

Historical Note

Northeastern University Programs in Multicultural Engineering (NUPRIME), Pre-NUPRIME, and the Northeastern University Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities (NUCRCM) were initiatives directed by David C. Blackman, Assistant Dean and Director of Minority Affairs, College of Engineering, 1975-1999.

NUPRIME was established in 1974 to recruit and support minority students in the College of Engineering, the College of Computer Science, and the Engineering Technology program. Based in the College of Engineering, NUPRIME assists over 200 students each year by providing academic and financial support, including scholarships and loans, mathematics and physics workshops, one-on-one tutoring, and career counseling. NUPRIME also provides advisory support for minority engineering student organizations, including the Black Engineering Student Society (BESS), the Haitian Student Unity Club, and the Hispanic Society of Professional Engineers. NUPRIME receives financial support from corporate sponsors and granting agencies. Until the late 1990s, the program was known as Northeastern University Progress in Minorities in Engineering.

Pre-NUPRIME was founded in 1979 to increase the number of qualified minority high school students pursuing careers in the engineering professions. In particular, the program attempted to prepare students for admission to NU's College of Engineering or Computer Science. Most of the materials in the collection pertain to the program sponsored by Sippican, Inc., a defense electronics contractor located in Marion, Mass. This program was open to students in grades 9-12 living in Marion, Mattapoisset, Wareham, and Rochester, Mass. Participating students attended math and physics classes one night per week during the school year. Students also received career and financial aid counseling, learned about various careers in science and engineering, and participated in recreational and cultural activities. A similar program (not sponsored by Sippican) ran in the Boston/Cambridge area. After 1997, Sippican, Inc. shifted its pre-engineering partnership to the University of Massachusetts.

Northeastern University's Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities (NUCRCM) was established in 1993 to increase the number of minorities in technical and scientific professions by providing students with academic and personal support in grades K-12. NUCRCM initially collaborated with a group of 15-18 schools in the Boston and Cambridge area. The principals and headmasters of these schools formed their own administrative body, the Confederation of Principals and Headmasters, in 1993. This organization worked with NUCRCM to plan programs and communicate information to teachers at member schools. NUCRCM sponsored many programs for students, teachers, and parents. Programs for students included algebra, calculus, and physics workshops; standardized test preparation courses; after school tutoring; and Engineering Week at Polaroid, during which students received an introduction to various engineering careers. Parent programs included workshops on the college application process, decision-making strategies, and stress management. NUCRCM was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1993-1998.

Both NUPRIME and NUCRCM collaborated with and offered guidance to many other Boston-area institutions. One major collaborator was the Boston Public Schools, which collaborated with NUCRCM via the Confederation of Principals and Headmasters to offer programming to students and teachers. BPS also partnered with NUPRIME and NUCRCM to apply to two National Science Foundation grant programs: the Local Systemic Change program in 1996, and Urban Systemic Initiatives in 1997. Neither of these grants was successful.

Additional collaborators include the Principals' Center at Harvard Graduate School of Education, an organization dedicated to the personal and professional development of school principals. In 1996 NUCRCM and the Principals' Center sponsored the Principals' Institute in Science and Mathematics (PRISM). The Institute was designed for principals and directors of Urban Systemic Initiatives projects throughout the United States. Participating teachers attended a one-week seminar on math and science reform in July and August 1996. In 1994, NUCRCM partnered with the H. Dudley Wright Center at Tufts University to create a workshop for middle- and high-school teachers, and collaborated with the Noyce Foundation to create a proposal for the Boston Pride School of Math and Science, a Boston charter school.

MATH Excel, a program initiated in 1991 by the NU Mathematics Department and funded by the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, attempted to increase the number of people in math, science, and engineering careers by providing rigorous training in mathematics. Students in the MATH Excel program were eligible to participate in the science and engineering programs offered by NUPRIME. In 1993, The Massachusetts Pre-Engineering Program (Mass-PEP) and NUCRCM collaborated to create a series college-level calculus workshops for high school students. Mass-PEP is based at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The program's mission is to attract and assist minority students in grades 6-12 who are interested in engineering and prepare them for admission to a college-level science and engineering program through workshops and seminars. David Blackman was also a member of the Partnerships Advancing the Learning of Mathematics and Science (PALMS) Executive Committee, a program initiated by the Massachusetts Department of Education in conjunction with the National Science Foundation to systemically change and improve the way mathematics and science are taught and learned in grades K-12. Phase I of the project occurred from 1992-1997.

Extent

1.15 cubic feet (4 containers)

Language

English

Additional Description

Overview

NUPRIME was established in 1974 to recruit and support minority students in the College of Engineering, the College of Computer Science, and the Engineering Technology program. Based in the College of Engineering, NUPRIME assists over 200 students each year by providing academic and financial support, including scholarships and loans, mathematics and physics workshops, one-on-one tutoring, and career counseling. NUPRIME also provides advisory support for minority engineering student organizations, including the Black Engineering Student Society (BESS), the Haitian Student Unity Club, and the Hispanic Society of Professional Engineers. NUPRIME receives financial support from corporate sponsors and granting agencies. Until the late 1990s, the program was known as Northeastern University Progress in Minorities in Engineering. Pre-NUPRIME was founded in 1979 to increase the number of qualified minority high school students pursuing careers in the engineering professions. In particular, the program attempted to prepare students for admission to NU's College of Engineering or Computer Science. Northeastern University's Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities (NUCRCM) was established in 1993 to increase the number of minorities in technical and scientific professions by providing students with academic and personal support in grades K-12.