The college made a commitment to increase the number of doctoral degree holders among underrepresented groups in 1991, with the Support for Under-Represented Groups in Engineering (SURGE) fellowship program. A comprehensive package of stipends, services, and activities, the long-term objective of this program is to increase the number of women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Pacific Islanders) qualified for engineering faculty and advanced research positions.

SURGE was one response to a College Advisory Board that "strongly suggested the college should be more visibly active," in competing for top students in underrepresented groups, recalled Preston Ransom, a former assistant dean serving as director for the SURGE program. At the same time, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a two-year program to fund initiatives for recruiting and supporting women, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities interested in graduate engineering education.

"A committee brainstormed a proposal, and we were one of 25 schools funded and one of the few schools with a comprehensive, sustainable program to cover all underrepresented groups in all engineering fields," he said of the $1.25 million NSF grant. Ransom was asked to direct the program, which was structured to include a SURGE adviser in each engineering department as well as an advisory committee made up of the advisers and administrators of the college’s Minority Engineering Program, Academic Programs Office, and Women in Engineering Program.

"We survived past the NSF funding, which was a signal of commitment and success," Ransom said. "Two engineering deans now have felt very strongly about diversity, and campus administration has continued to return money for support of the program. So, we’ve had steadfast commitment from the top, which has been very important."

More than 100 students have held SURGE fellowships since the first dozen were awarded in fall 1992. The budget allows for 10 new fellows each year, and SURGE supports them for five years. Typically, 40 to 45 SURGE fellows are actively pursuing degrees. These students are nominated by department administrators or faculty members and then selected by the SURGE office.

"The SURGE program is not a minority program, nor is it a needs-based program. SURGE fellowship students tend to be some of the better students," Ransom said. "These kids would have gone to graduate school somewhere–we’re fortunate to have them here."

Today, the SURGE fellowship program receives campus and college funds as well as corporate funds. It provides each student with tuition and fees and a combination of fellowship and assistantship stipends that average $20,000 for five years. The college provides the fellowship stipends, while the departments provide the assistantship stipends.

"The money takes away some of the uncertainty," Ransom said, noting that students are supported as long as they are making progress. "Students have no obligation back to the program, except to succeed."

An NSF verbal evaluation from students revealed that although the money was important, access to Ransom was critical. He meets each student and stays linked by email. He also makes a point of keeping an open door.

"The thing that has surprised me more than anything is how much the students need someone to talk to–someone not in their department or laboratory, but someone they feel safe to go to and just let it all come out," Ransom said. "In this, I think the SURGE program probably mirrors all graduate students because problems that SURGE students talk about almost never have to do with race. They are more often about relationships and misunderstandings with advisers, marital concerns, and gender issues. Now that I’ve recognized the value of this role, I play it up and tell students I’m here for them. The college needs such a person for the student body.

"I can’t say that without the money they wouldn’t have made it," he added, "but I can say that without the counseling and support, some might not have made it."

To date, 31 SURGE fellows have earned doctoral degrees and another 9 fellows are nearing completion. Although SURGE is aimed at doctoral-level education, 28 students left the program with master’s degrees. Judged on the basis of earning advanced degrees, that makes for an 85% success rate, Ransom noted.

The SURGE program benefits extend well beyond the students, however. The program has added to the prestige of the college and university, providing visibility for the institution in what remains a national issue. On campus, having a more diverse student population has enriched the classroom and laboratory experiences for faculty and students, Ransom noted.

"Faculty who have had these students remember them and talk about them a lot," he said. "There are some now who seek these students out on their own so that they will have diversity in their own research groups."

The SURGE program also has proven pivotal to attracting funding, Ransom noted, observing that he spends a significant amount of time responding to requests for data and descriptions of the program to include with research proposals.

"Without it, some proposals wouldn’t get funded. Faculty need to demonstrate past and current activities in this area," Ransom said. "It’s a responsibility that the college has to meet."

MERGE: Bringing Ethnic Minorities to Campus

Although the SURGE program proved effective for increasing the number of doctoral candidates from underrepresented groups, increasing the number of ethnic minorities within those groups proved more problematic. In fact, about seven years ago, only one minority student was nominated for the SURGE program.

The Minority Engineering Recruitment Graduation Education (MERGE) program was one response. The program reaches out to prospective undergraduate ethnic minorities at universities with accredited engineering programs. Supported by corporate funding, MERGE is not linked to admissions. To be considered, students must submit application materials, which are evaluated by Ransom and department representatives.

Up to 70 promising individuals are invited for an expense-paid trip to campus, where they meet with faculty and learn about the university, including cultural activities, graduate programs, and facilities. They also attend a workshop on how to apply to graduate school. A variety of activities are designed to encourage these students to see themselves in graduate school at the University of Illinois College of Engineering.

After visiting campus, MERGE students follow the path of other students: they must apply to the department they are interested in and wait for word of admission. Ransom estimated that about half of those who apply are admitted. Of those, typically only one in three are nominated for a SURGE fellowship because of the requirement to enroll for a doctoral degree.

"These kids are great students, very capable of succeeding," he added. "There’s a lot of competition to recruit them."