INTRODUCTION
The Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science is committed to ensuring an atmosphere that is conducive to the well-being of all its constituent persons. The core personnel are students, faculty and staff, but the commitment extends outward to the wider community of stakeholders which includes students’ families, the employers and other corporate partners of the school, and members of the cities, towns and neighborhoods in which Hofstra University is embedded. Our overarching vision is that all members of the community will feel welcome in a learning environment that promotes respect regardless of individual differences.
Specifically, the DeMatteis School heralds the diversity of its students, whose composition closely mirrors that of its location in a strongly multi-ethnic county (Nassau County) contiguous with the most multi-ethnic county in the United States (Queens County). We are well aware that the fields of engineering and computer science nationwide present a less diverse profile, and are consequently proud of our ability to address the imbalance of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in these professions through their successful completion of our rigorous degree programs.
We also recognize that some students enter our programs from underresourced schools. Therefore, our school commits to providing appropriate support programs that offer an equivalent opportunity to succeed in navigating our curricula. Hence, we actively incorporate the principle of equity in our educational enterprise.
Finally, our school is inherently inclusive of all whose ultimate goal is to enter the professional fields of engineering and computer science. Our stated intent is to be a premier exponent of the knowledge and skills required to be successful, and we afford all of our students all opportunities to thrive in this academic environment in order to achieve their goals.
SPECIFIC GOALS
- To create programs that address the imbalance of secondary school preparation for collegiate studies in engineering and computer science
- To create programs that address the historic gender imbalance in the engineering and computer science student populations
- To monitor carefully the retention statistics for URMs throughout the curricula, examining data to determine if any major differences exist, and to intervene with added resources where possible to minimize such differences
- To ensure that all faculty and staff are aware of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in their interaction with students and with each other
- To seek to employ best practices through frequent interaction with other institutions and to regularly assess the effectiveness of initiatives already being implemented
- To foster the culture of inclusion within the curriculum to ensure that all graduates enter the workforce with a heightened awareness of the value of operating in a diverse professional environment