Dean Keynton Named Co-Chair, Academic Partnership Council of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Robert Keynton, dean of the William States Lee College of Engineering, has been elected co-chair of the Academic Partnership Council, a leadership committee of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a 13,000+ member national academic and professional organization. Together with fellow co-chair, Lance Perez from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Keynton will lead efforts to empower the Hispanic community to impact the world through STEM roles.
“Through my past partnerships with both academic and industry leaders across the country, I have seen first hand how awareness, access and support are key for developing Hispanic representation in STEM,” said Keynton. “As an engineer of Puerto Rican heritage, I appreciate the needs and opportunities of Hispanic students in the technical fields. The future of engineering and all STEM growth internationally depends on increasing its talent diversity. The Academic Partnership Council is an influential group of top-ranked engineering schools that is well positioned to help with this growth. We are banding together to support the Hispanic community in STEM.”
SHPE reports that Hispanics comprise 20% of the U.S. population but only 7% of the STEM workforce. UNC Charlotte, the state’s top institution for awarding bachelor’s degrees to Latinx students, strives to address this disparity with its increasing emphasis on opportunities for Hispanic and Latinx students.
“While UNC Charlotte’s Lee College of Engineering has increased its Hispanic representation from 5% to 11% in the past decade, there is still much work to be done,” Keynton continued. “I look forward to continuing this trend toward better representation not only at Charlotte, but with peer institutions nationwide.”
“I look forward to continuing this trend toward better representation not only at Charlotte, but with peer institutions nationwide.”
Dean Robert Keynton
Learn more:
The 2022 SHPE National Convention, the largest gathering of Hispanic professionals in STEM fields, was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, to a sold-out crowd.
Charlotte joins Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success
The William States Lee College of Engineering is Forging the Future
Established in 1965, The William States Lee College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte, named for energy industry icon Bill Lee, offers engineering education programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. The College of Engineering is one of the Carolinas’ largest engineering schools, with more than 3,000 students and over 16,000 alumni, more than half of whom live and work in the Charlotte region. The college is committed to building strong partnerships with industry in Charlotte and across the nation through academic, research and innovation programs. Learn more about how the college is forging the future at engr.charlotte.edu and on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.