To celebrate the history of the National Society of Black Engineers and its success in attracting the organization’s Region II conference to Pittsburgh, city of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto declared Friday, Nov. 14, as “National Society of Black Engineers Day.”
The proclamation recognizes the efforts of NSBE’s Region II, which will hold its Fall Regional Conference Nov. 14-16 at the DoubleTree Hilton in Greentree. The Region II chairperson is Pitt senior Ashley McCray, whose major is chemical engineering, and the conference planning chair is Pitt senior Marcus Jordan, whose major is industrial engineering.
“I would like to thank the Pittsburgh community for their ongoing support of NSBE and urge us all to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities presented at this year’s Fall Regional Conference,” McCray said.
Marcus added, “We belong to a Society that is founded upon the tenants of excelling academically, succeeding professionally, and positively impacting the community. That is why this year my goal is for every attendee is to recognize their role in fulfilling the mission, and to understand how to live the mission every day, so that they can truly exceed their own expectations and cultivate change in the world.”?
The proclamation reads in full: WHEREAS, founded in 1975, the National Society of Black Engineers is the nation’s largest student governed organization; and WHEREAS, The National Society of Black Engineers’ mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community; and WHEREAS, NSBE’s Region II, the host of this year’s Fall Regional Conference, comprises Pennsylvania, West Virginia and states along the eastern seaboard to South Carolina; participants include pre-college students, collegiate students and technical professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and North Africa, Europe and the Middle East; and WHEREAS, this year the National Society of Black Engineers has returned to Pittsburgh for its conference, with the theme of “Innovation and Excellence: Reimagining Your Future”; and WHEREAS, over 700 NSBE conference participants will focus on the power of the individual by showcasing academic and professional skills through competitions and workshops as well as exchanging ideas on the improvement of technology within the community NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that I, William Peduto, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, do hereby declare November 14, 2014 “National Society of Black Engineers Day” here in our most livable City of Pittsburgh.
“This day allows us to target a major area of focus, which revolves around increasing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) literacy within the communities in which we reside, go to school, and work,” McCray said. “My regional focus on community impact directly correlates with not only the Presidential “Educate to Innovate” campaign, but also the NSBE National Initiative of Culturally Responsible Behavior.
“In order to increase the number of engineers, we have to expose the world to what being an engineer means. This can be accomplished with interactive science demonstrations, networking with current engineering students, and exposure to working engineering professionals. I charge all members of Region II and the Pittsburgh community to enjoy every aspect of NSBE Day and our Fall Regional Conference.”
