Director of Model Institutions for Excellence Initiative
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Dr. Benjamin C. Flores is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. He earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (1990). He has held several administrative position including Associate Dean for Graduate Studies for the College of Engineering, Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and Interim Chair of the Computer Science Department. Dr. Flores is an expert in retention strategies for undergraduate and graduate students in the STEM disciplines. He has been the Principal Investigator on multiple National Science Foundation grants and cooperative agreements. Currently he is Director of the University of Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and Director of the STEM Talent Expansion Program. He has conducted multiple presentations and seminars in the US, Mexico and South America addressing institutional models for student access and success in higher education. Dr. Flores is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society for the Advancement of Science, and the International Society of Optical Engineering. His honors include the ABET President's Diversity Award (2006), Excelencia in Edication Award (2006), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Star Award (2005), IEEE Millennium Medal for outstanding contributions in engineering education and membership to the Electrical Engineering Honor Society (Eta Kappa Nu) and the Engineering Honor Society (Tau Beta Pi). |
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Represented the UTEP College of Engineering and received one of three ABET President’s Awards for Diversity at the ABET 2006 Commission Summit on October 25. The award recognized The College of Engineering for extraordinary success in achieving diversity and inclusiveness or for facilitating diversity and inclusiveness in the technological segments of our society.
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Received the 2006 Examples of Excelencia in Education Award at the Baccalaureate Level for the MIE Initiative’s work over the past 11 years to accelerate success for Latino and other students in Science, Technology, Engineering at Mathematics (STEM) fields Support from federal NSF and NASA grants has allowed UTEP’s MIE to develop a model to support student and faculty development, outreach, curriculum reform, undergraduate research, and physical infrastructural improvements through six interconnected activities. MIE’s impact is seen in 2003 –04 data and UTEP's ranking 4th in the country awarding bachelor degrees in engineering (102 degrees to Latino students) and in biology (75 degrees to Latino students) and top 20 in awarding bachelor’s degrees in two fields, in computer science (33 degrees to Latino students) and in mathematics (9 degrees to Latino students).
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Received the 2005 Texas Higher Education STAR Award for the role that the MIE Initiative has played in supporting science, technology, engineering, and math undergraduates by improving their first-year experiences, improving curricula, and providing enrichment activities.
- Anuj Gupta, MS Engineering, May 2008.
- Hector Ochoa, Ph.D. Computer Engineering, July 2007.
- Hector Garces, Ph.D. Computer Engineering, December 2006.
- Ericka Jackson, MS Electrical Engineering, December 2005.
Berenice Verdin, MS Electrical Engineering, August 2005.
Rebecca Sullivan, MS Electrical Engineering, December 2004.
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