By Neil Nachbar

Charles “Chuck” Watson, assistant director of diversity for the University of Rhode Island’s College of Engineering, has been named a regional chairperson of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) for the term of 2020-2022.

NAMEPA provides services, information and tools to educators in elementary, secondary and higher education to develop engineers and scientists from historically under-represented populations.

Watson will be the chair of Region A, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

“I was surprised to have been elected because there are mentors who have been associated with NAMEPA longer than I have, but I very much look forward to working with my colleagues to develop and advocate for programs that will help create change, cultivate diversity and increase access to careers in engineering and other STEM-related fields for those who have traditionally been under-represented,” said Watson, who is from Cranston.

Networking With Advocates

Watson has been attending NAMEPA’s national meetings for the past five years and has been a fixture at events hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), where he frequently interacts with NAMEPA members.

“You cross paths with many of the same people at conferences and workshops of multiple organizations, which helps you build relationships and a network of support,” said Watson. “We learn a lot from each other when we share some of the challenges we face and how we overcome obstacles and solve problems.”

Watson credits Richard Harris, the assistant dean of Northeastern University’s College of Engineering, for getting him involved in NAMEPA. Watson and Harris have worked together through the Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NE LSAMP) program, of which URI and Northeastern are members.

Watson’s networking skills were developed early in his career at URI.

“URI President Robert Carothers saw the potential in me in the early 90’s,” said Watson. “He advised me to participate on the executive board of the URI Alumni Association, which gave me a behind-the-scenes look at how things worked and taught me to work collaboratively with others.”

Nurturing GEMS

According to Watson, programs such as NAMEPA and the National GEM Consortium, which helps those from ethnic groups that have been historically under-represented in engineering, fall under the Louis Stokes umbrella.

Nathan Ankomah-Mensah, who graduated from URI in spring 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and electrical engineering, is pursuing his master’s degree in computer engineering at Purdue University this fall through a GEM fellowship.

“If it wasn’t for Chuck, I probably wouldn’t have heard of the GEM fellowship,” said Ankomah-Mensah. “He’s brought many students like myself to GEM workshops to learn about the application process and about graduate school opportunities. Being a GEM fellow has led to opportunities that I didn’t think were possible a year ago.”

Administrative Support

“Students need advocates who they can turn to when they have doubts or problems,” said Watson. “Being involved in NAMEPA gives our students access to more resources, in terms of people who can help them advance their engineering education or career.”

According to Watson, URI College of Engineering Dean Raymond Wright has helped foster many of the initiatives and partnerships to increase minority representation within the College and has supported student participation in organizations such as NAMEPA.

“You need 100 percent buy-in from leadership,” stated Watson. “Dean Wright is always supportive of everything we do to move the needle forward on minority representation in the College. He understands that the work will never be completely done.”

The ‘Pay-Off’

The pay-off for the hard work, said Watson, comes on graduation day.

“The reward is getting to hear the names of students called to receive their diploma, knowing that you helped them secure scholarships, opened doors for them and helped them through their struggles,” said Watson.

This chart shows how much minority enrollment has increased in the last 15 years in URI’s College of Engineering.

Semester	Total Enrollment	Minority Enrollment (undergrad. / grad.)	Minority Enrollment %	Freshmen Enrollment	Minority Freshman Enrollment	Minority Freshman Enrollment %
Fall 2004	865	75 (75/0)	8.67%	261	18	6.89%
Fall 2019	1589	308 (290/18)	19.4%	425	84	19.8%