Schubert Joins Board Working to Increase Diversity in Engineering; Carter to Serve as Regional Chair

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From left: Karl Schubert and Thomas Carter III.

Karl Schubert, professor of practice and associate director of the University of Arkansas’ multidisciplinary data science program, was recently nominated by Thomas Carter, the assistant dean for academics and student affairs, to join the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, also called NAMEPA.

NAMEPA is the nation's leading community of change agents cultivating diversity, access, equity and inclusion in engineering. NAMEPA is a network of university administrators, faculty, deans, pre-college educators and industry professionals committed to implementing programs, policies and institutional changes to broaden participation in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“I am truly honored and appreciate the opportunity to contribute to an exceptional team that is leading change,” said Schubert. “I am also honored to represent NAMEPA on the Carpentries Equity Council this year."

The Carpentries Equity Council oversees implementation of a grant project aimed at increasing the number of certified Instructors who are Latinx, Black and indigenous and developing culturally relevant training for data literacy and computational skills. 

In addition to Schubert’s appointment, NAMEPA announced that Thomas Carter will rejoin the group to serve out the term of the previous regional chair representing Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Carter served as the region’s chair 1994-96.

For more than four decades, NAMEPA has worked to attract, retain and graduate engineers from historically underrepresented minority populations. The efforts have helped to quadruple the number of engineers of color in a field that traditionally has lacked diversity.