UC College of Engineering Honors Brian Rowe

In late October 2004, the College of Engineering honored Mr. Brian H. Rowe (HON '87), former Chairman of GEAE, with a luncheon and update on two of his major gifts to the College: the Rowe Center for Women in Engineering and Newcastle Exchange Program. The Rowe Center-established in October 2001-promotes undergraduate recruitment, retention, and post-graduate mentoring for female student engineers at UC. The Newcastle Exchange Program annually exchanges a College of Engineering student with an engineering student from Newcastle UK (Mr. Rowe's alma mater) and is in its fourth year.

Mr. Rowe met with the exchange student from Newcastle, Robert Argile, Christopher Mosko the UC CoE student who attended Newscastle in the fall quarter of 2002 and graduates this June with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, and Rhonda Myers, who received her BSEE in '02 and is now working toward a graduate degree. Rhonda was actively involved in the Rowe Center during her undergraduate years and continues to be a strong advocate of the Center as a graduate student. Mr. Rowe was also presented with a thank you letter from UC CoE Mechanical Engineering student Emily Reichart, who studied at Newscastle in 2003. Ms. Reichart was unable to attend the luncheon due to her co-op assignment.

Since it's opening in January 2002, the Rowe Center has accomplished the following goals:

• in raising the retention rate of women students in the College of Engineering,
• integrating all CoE women's programs under it's umbrella,
• serving as a focal point for peer-group study and activities for women students,
• initiating new recruitment programs for women students,
• establishing a mentor program,
• and identifying and pursuing new funding opportunities from corporate and foundation sources.

It has also been a part of the College's overall success in recruitment in the last two years with a 22 percent increase in enrollment overall