TI supports educational opportunities for underrepresented women and minorities to foster success in engineering and science. Diverse teams provide varied perspectives and encourage the "out-of-the-box" thinking and innovation that TI needs to remain an industry leader. These partnerships also give graduating students the opportunity to learn about and pursue career opportunities at TI. Here are our key ethnic and gender equity education programs.
National Society of Black Engineers
As a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) board of corporate affiliates, TI promotes its mission to increase the number of black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.
In addition to providing nearly $450,000 to NSBE over the past seven years, TI has supported tutorial programs, group study sessions, junior high/high school outreach programs, technical seminars and workshops, and professional chapters. We have also contributed to the NSBE national magazine and participated in NSBE national and regional conventions for more than 20 years.
Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program
The TI Foundation completed our three-year $310,000 grant to the Dallas-based Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program (TexPREP). TexPREP identifies achieving middle and high school students with an interest in STEM and strengthens their potential for related careers. Its curriculum is presented over the course of four summers, with each academic component covering a seven- to eight-week period.
With a focus on building a high-quality and diverse 21st century workforce, women and members of minority groups – traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines – are special target groups.
TexPREP's success statewide is clear. Student participation has grown from 49 in 2007 to 415 in 2010. Of these participants:
99 percent graduated high school and went on to college.
84 percent graduated from college.
74 percent of college graduates are members of minority groups.
44 percent of the college graduates are science, mathematics or engineering majors, and of that group, 68 percent are members of traditionally underrepresented groups in these fields.
Urban League
The Urban League of Greater Dallas enables low-income families and adults to move from poverty to self-sufficiency. Since TI began supporting the organization, we’ve provided hundreds of middle and high school students with mentoring, training, career exposure and college preparation programs.
In 2010, TI’s investments sponsored a youth leadership conference for high school students interested in pursuing STEM degrees or careers; helped transport nearly 100 Dallas-area youth to three college campuses in Georgia to learn about the admissions process, funding options, college life and diversity on college campuses; and developed a career exploration/college preparatory symposium for high school students held at TI headquarters.
High-Tech, High Heels
A decade ago, a group of TI women executives pooled their personal contributions to create the Women of TI Fund. Its mission is to increase the number of girls graduating from high school who are entering a university-level degree program in STEM.
To achieve this mission, the group developed the High-Tech High Heels program to:
Increase STEM teacher effectiveness through gender equity training programs.
Provide STEM career information and dispel stereotypes through counselor workshops.
Grow girls' confidence through summer physics camps.
Increase enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and passage rate on AP tests.
Since High-Tech High Heels was first introduced in two local school districts:
642 girls attended the two-week physics camps.
57 STEM teachers each received about 20 hours of gender equity training.
420 counselors attended workshops on STEM careers.
Four gender equity trainers were certified.
Since implementation in the first district in 2003, AP Physics test pass rates have improved for both girls and boys. Of note:
Three times as many girls are taking the AP Physics test; their pass rate improved from 12 percent to 40 percent.
More than six times the number of Hispanic students passed.
More than four times the number of Black students passed.
After equity training in the second district, the number of AP tests taken by girls more than doubled and the pass rate increased by 10 percent.
More than 2,100 teachers received gender equity training through Laying the Foundation, UTeach Engineering, the Infinity Project and the Texas High School Project TSTEM Initiative.
To impact more STEM students, High-Tech High Heels is consulting with the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity on a National Science Foundation grant to expand the curriculum to cover all underrepresented groups. In 2010, the program received more than $40,000 in personal contributions, which brought total dollars raised to more than $568,000.
Minority chambers scholarship support
TI's membership in and support of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce is longstanding. Through the connection with these minority chambers, TI has leveraged its financial contribution to award college scholarships to hundreds of Hispanic, Black, and Asian-American students in the North Texas region.
In 2010, we shifted our financial support of chambers to offer more scholarships. We also proactively engaged with hundreds of scholarship recipients to pursue STEM careers and consider our company as an employer of choice.
