In December 2004 the College of Engineering named Ivan Favila the director of the Minority Engineering Program (MEP). Prior to joining the University, he served as the assistant director of the Minority Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and director of the Cooperative Engineering Education Program.

In addition to advising UIC students on academic, technical, interpersonal, and professional issues, Favila coordinated the Minority Engineering Orientation course and recruitment programs for pre-college students, supervised graduate and undergraduate students in peer mentor programs, and served as an adviser to student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, as well as the student-run Minority Engineering Design Team.

Favila received a bachelor's degree in general engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from UIC.

"Minority engineering at Notre Dame is not a new program," says Favila, "but we are renewing our commitment to encourage students with diverse backgrounds to become more fully engaged in what the college offers." According to Favila, over the next few months the MEP will focus on developing leadership skills in students, building a community of engineering students, developing engineering-related extra-curricular activities, and promoting academic excellence among all students. "Creative solutions," he says, "arise from people who think differently. Students from varied ethnicities, ancestries, and social conditions bring diverse ideas and solutions, which is quite valuable for problem-solving professions, such as engineering."

The Notre Dame MEP program was established in 1987 in order to encourage minority students in their pursuit of undergraduate degrees in engineering.

For more information about MEP activities, visit http://www.nd.edu/~mepnd.