THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 29, 1995 TAG: 9509290491
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
Six people sitting around a dying fire held thick sticks of wood. Freezing weather pressed in. Survival depended on cooperation, on the willingness of all to use their wood to collectively rekindle the flames.
But because of racial, class and religious resentments, none chose to act. So the entire group froze to death - a death not from the cold without, but from the cold within.
Speaking Thursday at Hampton University to a rapt audience of national business leaders and engineering school deans and faculty, Motorola vice president Roberta Gutman recited that tale, from a cautionary poem about the dangers of division. Gutman was one of several to present talks during the second annual Advancing Minorities' Interests in Engineering conference, which ends today.
The gathering, underwritten by nine historically black colleges and universities and nearly two dozen of the country's largest companies, was characterized by its pragmatic take on racial and gender diversity. On Thursday, firms participating in the conference appeared to have leapfrogged the national debate on affirmative action, coming down squarely on the side of actively encouraging, and paying for, diversity.
Motorola, Gutman said, aggressively recruits female and minority scientists and engineers to design and build a variety of high-tech products. The effort is fueled neither by ideology nor kindheartedness.
``For us, this is not an altruistic venture. What's driving us is global competition,'' she said. ``If we wish to compete globally, we need to use the entire population. The power of plurality in our society has for too many years been left lacking.''
By early in the next century, based on market projections and expected company expansions, there may also be a serious shortage of engineering talent nationwide. For the United States to maintain its pre-eminence in engineering, Gutman said, it must create the largest possible pool of qualified professionals. Without trained specialists, enormous potential markets in China, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa may remain untapped.
Therefore, she said, despite the vast uncertainty resulting from current corporate restructurings and downsizings, companies should plan now to call upon all segments of the American population.
``Companies are dealing with an awful lot of change,'' said Robert P. Podgorski, director of employment and staffing for aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp. ``That change is rapid. Dealing with diversity is change imposed on top of change. But companies realize they must be diverse in order to remain competitive.''
Between the speeches, clumps of decision-makers - blacks and whites, females and males - clustered together to exchange introductions and information. Uppermost on the minds of most manufacturers was where to find minority engineering talent.
``Our concern is staffing,'' said J. James Morrow, vice president and plant manager for the Michigan-based Detroit Diesel Corp., a $2-billion, 6,200-person company. ``As we expand here and overseas, we have to make sure we have the right mix of folks to support that growth. This (conference) is opening new horizons for us.''
According to the American Association of Engineering Societies, the number of African Americans awarded bachelor's degrees in engineering rose from 2,122 in 1989 to 2,769 in 1994. However, the 1994 figure still represents only 4.65 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded in the field.
Enlisting historically black universities and colleges to supply companies with their best graduating students is one way to make sure that what speakers called the ``minority pipeline'' remains open. But companies will need to bolster engineering schools with major investments of money and equipment, perhaps even facilities.
For their part, colleges and universities must be prepared to upgrade the content and requirements of their academic offerings. Also on the list must be consideration of the real-world problems faced by firms pressured to push advanced, consumer-friendly products rapidly to market.
``Diversity without competence is a cruel hoax,'' said Livingston Holder Jr., the conference's kickoff speaker and a program manager with Boeing. ``Engineers must have an understanding of what is reasonable. I've seen wonderful drawings of products that are not producible.''
According to Gutman, the companies engaged globally know full well that diversity is no mere slogan, but an economic imperative gathering force. Overseas competitors won't wait around if Americans plod, rather than sprint, their way toward diversity.
``The message today, friends, is if we look at diversity myopically we will miss extraordinary opportunity inside and outside this country,'' she said. ``Walk with us, laughing, all the way to the bank.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff
Motorola's Roberta Gutman says for the U.S. to maintain its
pre-eminence in engineering, it must create a pool of
professionals.
Gutman and other speakers were preaching to the choir Thursday.
Conference participants' firms appear already to have embraced
racial, gender diversity. by CNB