Contact: Robbie Ward
Photo by: Diane Heim Godwin
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers encouraged future black engineers to develop leadership qualities and work to improve issues facing the country.
Carl B. Mack, a 1986 mechanical engineering Mississippi State graduate, told students at a banquet on campus Thursday [April 12] they could decide for themselves whether to contribute to the United States' success or do nothing.
"If we do not do anything or get involved we're nothing more than malcontents," Mack told the crowd of black engineering students and faculty honored by two campus groups, Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education and MSU's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Mack's experience in leadership positions has shown him the importance of helping others and making a difference in the world, he said. He has served as the leader of the NAACP's Seattle King County Branch in Washington and helped revitalize the National Society of Black Engineers, formed in 1971 to help improve the recruitment and retention of black engineers. After Mack took over as executive director of the national organization, membership increased 46 percent from below 13,000 to more than 19,000 members.
The Jackson native encouraged students to learn from those around them and to teach others, too. He said one way students can make a difference is to mentor and encourage younger students to earn top grades in school, laying the groundwork for a successful career.
Returning to his alma mater, Mack smiled as he met many black MSU students majoring in engineering. Of MSU's about 16,000 students, around 20 percent are African-American. Mack said their experience would be different from his more than two decades ago.
The university will create an African-American studies program, including an academic minor, to begin in fall 2007. MSU's Bagley College of Engineering includes an assistant dean for diversity and student development, along with many programs aimed at encouraging minorities and women to seek careers in engineering.
Mack had a private dinner with five black graduate students during his visit to the university. He said seeing more blacks at MSU seeking advanced degrees in engineering showed strides forward for blacks in Mississippi.
"How do you not feel good about that?" he asked.
For more information, contact Mack at 703-549-2207 extension 201 or the Bagley College of Engineering's assistant dean for diversity and student development, Tommy Stevenson, at 662-325-8573 or tommy@engr.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.