While women and minorities are underrepresented in the field of engineering, NIU’s College of Engineering hopes to provide programs aimed at helping these groups.

“We are hoping funding will become available so we can start women in engineering and (other) minorities in engineering programs,” said Joy Pauschke, associate dean of the College of Engineering.

Such programs offer advising, mentoring and study skill seminars, but funding might not be available for a few years.

“It takes personnel and resources to do this,” Pauschke said.

She said women accounted for 10 percent of undergraduates last fall, with blacks and hispanics making up 11 percent.

Nationally 17 percent of undergraduates in engineering were women while 13 percent were minorities, she said.

In addition, experts predict a shortage of 560,000 engineers by the year 2010.

Several organizations are being formed to help offer support to minority students. For example, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will be forming this fall.

Seniors Julio Lozano and Tony Nava said the lack of minorities and women in classes is obvious.

“There’s not a lot of minorities,” Nava said. “When I go into a class I already know what to expect.”

Lozano said he believes in order to recruit, student awareness needs to increased.

“I think people need to be more aware in high school,” he said. “They see the physics and get scared off.”

Reaching out to students early might help them get interested in math and science, Pauschke said.

Pauschke said the department is committed to increasing the numbers of women and minorities. “We think this is something very important,” she said.