2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Strategies for Enhancing Diversity, Inclusiveness, and Engagement Among Graduate Engineering Students at one of the Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

Presented at Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 3

Inclusiveness, participation and engagement are essential components for fostering positive
academic success in graduate engineering programs. Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) play a pivotal role in providing access to high quality education for
underrepresented groups in STEM fields, particularly in engineering. However, challenges
persist in achieving optimal participation and engagement levels among these diverse graduate
student populations. This research will investigate strategies for enhancing diversity,
inclusiveness, and engagement among graduate engineering students at an HBCU.
The study focused on the following research questions: What factors hinder engagement among
diverse graduate engineering students? How do inclusiveness and engagement strategies impact
student participation in graduate engineering programs? What strategies have been successful in
fostering inclusiveness? How can current strategies for enhancing participation be improved to
better support diverse graduate students in engineering? Using a mixed-method approach, the
study will combine surveys, focus groups, and interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative
data from students, faculty, and administrators. Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmark
(GDIB) shall be adapted to assess diversity and inclusion of the Graduate Engineering Students
within the educational environment while Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire
(MSLQ) will be used to measure engagement.
The goal is to identify gaps in current strategies being employed and then suggest ways for
improvements. Future research could explore the long-term effects of these strategies on student
retention and career success in STEM fields. The potential outcomes of this research could
provide actionable recommendations for improving diversity and inclusion at HBCUs, with
implications for similar institutions. The anticipated findings are expected to enhance student
engagement, leading to greater retention and academic success in STEM fields.

Authors

Mr. Pelumi Olaitan Abiodun http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4969-9591 Morgan State University [biography]

Pelumi Abiodun is a current doctoral student and research assistant at the department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. Pelumi got his BSc and MSc degree in Physics from Obafemi Awolowo University, where he also served as a research assistant at the Environmental Pollution Research unit, in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. As part of his contribution to science and engineering, Pelumi has taught as a teaching assistant both at Morgan State University and Obafemi Awolowo University. With passion to communicate research findings and gleaned from experts in the field as he advances his career, Olaitan has attended several in-persons and virtual conferences and workshop, and at some of them, made presentation on findings on air pollution, waste water reuse, and heavy metal contamination.
Dr. Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E. Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty in 2010. He is the assistant director of the Center for Advanced Transportation and Infrastructure Engineering Research (CATIER) at Morgan State Universit
Mr. Micheal Oketunde Okegbola http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2817-4737 Morgan State University [biography]

Surv. Micheal Okegbola was a faculty member with the Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics,
Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria and an Adjunct with the Surveying and
Geoinformatics department, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria where he teaches
undergraduate and graduate courses. Surv. Micheal is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Sustainable and
Resilient Infrastructure Engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University.
He is also a graduate research assistant at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Smart Innovation
and Resilient Engineering Research Laboratory also at the Civil Engineering Department. His research
interests include UAV applications in high-rise and bridge infrastructures monitoring, Remote Sensing
and GIS in engineering applications, engineering education, student success and hands-on engineering
pedagogy for program enhancements.

He is an alumnus of University of Nigeria (UNN), having earned his M.Sc. in Surveying and Geoinformatics
(Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System). He previously completed a B.Sc. in Surveying and
Geoinformatics, at the Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. Micheal is a Registered/Licensed Surveyor of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the professional body, Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), which is
vested with the power by the Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to register professional Surveyors.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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