Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt and of Greek extraction, Christos Christodoulou, Ph.D., is well aware of the role Egyptians and Greeks played in human history. His cultural awareness makes him uniquely qualified to appreciate historical significance. “Cairo is well-known for its rich history. It had one of the first and richest civilizations in humanity. (The Greek civilization) is another proud, ancient civilization,” says Dr. Christodoulou. 

As dean of the Jim and Ellen King School of Engineering and Computing at the University of New Mexico, he finds that New Mexico possesses its share of ancient history. “Of course, most of it is Native American history, and I respect that. In this state, we have 15, maybe even longer, generations of Hispanics. There are very proud, very rich (in history) Hispanics in this state for generations,” says Dr. Christodoulou. 

Dr. Christodoulou came to the University of New Mexico in 1999 and he’s worked there ever since. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University and is an engineer by trade. 

An Underlying Message of Respect

His mission at UNM’s School of Engineering is to offer broad access to high-quality research-based education. He fulfills this mission by recognizing and utilizing cultural and intellectual diversity as creative forces. 

About 37 percent of the students enrolled at the School of Engineering are Hispanic and 30 percent of its graduating class is Hispanic. Overall, 68 percent of the school’s undergraduate students are from underrepresented groups, like African Americans, women, and Hispanics. The School of Engineering respects both individuals and their cultures, regardless of their background. As an HSI serving a state with a population that is 47.8 percent Hispanic, UNM’s leadership team, especially those who come from outside the state, must respect Hispanic culture, says Dr. Christodoulou. 

Part of respecting a culture is creating pathways for individuals within that culture to succeed and supporting their educational efforts. To support Hispanics in New Mexico, UNM created an outreach program in local high schools and a Hispanic engineer’s association on campus. At the high school level, the School of Engineering offers an introduction to engineering courses at local high schools. These courses are designed to attract Hispanic high school students to STEM professions by introducing them to the world of engineering. “Some don’t know what an engineer does,” says Dr. Christodoulou.     

To improve Hispanics’ opportunities in education, the Hispanic Engineers Association mobilizes Hispanic students on campus. “When they go to conferences or hold events, we support them,” says Dr. Christodoulou. It’s important that Hispanics enjoy a certain level of comfort at UNM’s School of Engineering. Dr. Christodoulou and his leadership team ensure this by recognizing and celebrating the individual successes of Hispanic students. 

Creating Attractive Job Candidates

To ensure UNM engineering graduates have attractive job opportunities and make them desirable for America’s workforce, Dr. Christodoulou’s goal is to raise the school’s visibility and its national ranking. “I am enabling my students who are graduating from the school of engineering to be recognized and sought after in the workforce. I’m just increasing their chances to be successful,” says Dr. Christodoulou.

Currently, UNM’s School of Engineering is one of five engineering schools partnering with Sandia National Labs, one of the largest engineering outfits in the US. The school’s proximity to Sandia - just a 15-minute drive from campus - has allowed it to cultivate a mutually beneficial partnership, one that’s longer than the other four schools enjoy. “We have the strongest relationship and the longest,” says Dr. Christodoulou.

UNM’s School of Engineering also enjoys a relationship with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the senior lab in the Department of Energy’s system. Working with UNM’s ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Course), Los Alamos recruits a significant number of engineering students, some of whom receive military clearance to work on projects that address national security, science, energy, and environmental management. “There are a couple of programs in ROTC (for which) they only want engineering students involved. They value those students. A lot of the ROTC students are Hispanic students. We have given clearance to (some students) because we have a lot of projects with the United States Air Force (also 15 minutes from campus),” says Dr. Christodoulou. 

In the private sector, UNM’s school of engineering also supplies Intel, Honeywell, and Lockheed with a robust pipeline of engineering graduates. 

Over the past 15 years or so, US companies have evaluated the diversity, equity, and inclusivity of their workforces and have made commitments to improving their minority numbers. This practice has raised Hispanic engineering students’ value among America’s most powerful and successful companies. UNM’s track record of churning out significant numbers of Hispanic engineering graduates has raised the School of Engineering’s visibility and has made it a stop on many corporate recruiters’ itineraries. “Whether it’s Facebook, whether it’s Google, whether it’s Fitbit, whether it’s Microsoft, they all want to take our students because they want to diversify,” says Dr. Christodoulou. “If you are a Hispanic student, the opportunities are there,” says Dr.  Christodoulou.

Diverse Points of View Yield Better Products 

As more Hispanics pursue STEM professions and secure jobs in STEM fields, says Dr. Christodoulou, more opportunities will open up for all Hispanics. “If the pool is not large enough, companies will not be able to hire a lot of Hispanics. We try (to increase that pool). Our university produces a lot of Hispanic graduates, and there will be more opportunities to hire Hispanics,” says Dr. Christodoulou.

There are many reasons companies diversify their workforce, not the least of which is politics. But when it comes down to the design and engineering of products, diverse views during the initial steps of the design process will yield a far better product. “That’s because you have different points of view, not political points of view. This is how people are. If you get a woman and a man and an old person and a young person and you get a Hispanic and a non-Hispanic, and you get an African-American, you’re going to get different views. Most likely, you’re going to have a better design,” says Dr. Christodoulou. “Everybody benefits from this. That’s the future. No matter what we do, eventually that’s what’s going to happen because that’s how companies are going to be more competitive. Period.”

Hispanic students from poor backgrounds may never realize their potential as engineers or may lack the confidence to pursue engineering. Some forgo higher education because they feel obligated to get a job directly out of high school to help financially support their families. “We lose those people. We reach some and some we can’t…We try and I’m sure other universities try. It’s not just us who lose them but the entire country loses those people,” says Dr. Christodoulou.