TCNJ News
For Immediate Release
March 20, 2008
TCNJ announces $300,000 grant from The Martinson Family Foundation
to cultivate future engineers in Trenton
EWING, NJ … With the help of a generous grant from the Martinson Family Foundation, The College of New Jersey will help to cultivate the future engineers of Trenton.
This grant provides an initial gift of $94,000 toward the nearly $300,000 pledge the Martinson Family Foundation will distribute over the next three years to continue the development and cultivation of science and engineering knowledge among Trenton youth. Building on the success and interest generated by the elementary Children Designing & Engineering™ program, funded by a $250,000 grant from the Foundation in 2004, Trenton’s Future Engineers is the next installment of afterschool and summer camp programs designed for Trenton’s middle school students.
Terms of the grant were announced at a joint briefing held at TCNJ on March 20.
In this partnership between the College and the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton & Mercer County, Future Engineers will provide an exploration of science, math and technology concepts as they relate to an understanding of careers. Youth participants will explore these concepts in the field of engineering, such as mechanical, electrical, civil, environmental, and chemical, and related careers such as solar designer, urban planner, theme park designer, and waste water manager.
The shortage of engineers in the United States is a severe and increasing problem. There has been a major decline in the number of college students majoring in fields such as math, science, and technology, and of the small percentage who do choose these career paths, only a tiny fraction of students emerge from our inner cities.
Alison Goeke, TCNJ project director, said that science, math, and engineering often appear both difficult and uninteresting to many students, especially to urban youth.
“To interest students in engineering, we must engage them in problem-solving activities early on, and nurture their curiosity and creativity throughout their schooling,” said Goeke.
Future Engineers will also place a major emphasis on professional development for Trenton School District teachers, who play a significant role in getting their students excited about engineering and its related career fields.
The Martinson Family Foundation works quietly behind the scenes promoting the scientific and technological literacy of New Jersey children – and laying the groundwork for the state’s continuing prosperity. John Martinson, founder and managing partner of the Martinson Family Foundation, The College of New Jersey, and the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton & Mercer County are particularly interested in seeing that economically-disadvantaged students have a stake in that future.
The Martinson Family Foundation supports education initiatives encouraging collaboration between universities and K-12 math and science educators.
For more information on Trenton’s Future Engineers or Children Designing & Engineering™, please contact Alison Goeke, 609.771.3244 or goeke2@tcnj.edu
About The College of New Jersey
TCNJ currently is ranked as one of the 75 "Most Competitive" schools in the nation by Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, is rated the No. 1 public institution in the northern region of the country by U.S. News & World Report, and is one of Kiplinger's Personal Finance's top educational values in the country. In 2006, the College joined an elite group of institutions when it was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Fewer than 10 percent of the nation's colleges and universities share this honor.
