About Us

NSBE's Mission
NSBE's mission is " to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. "

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) with more than 30,000 members, is one of the largest student-managed organization in the country. NSBE is comprised of more than 233 chapters on college and university campuses, 65 Alumni Extension chapters nationwide and 89 Pre-College chapters. These chapters are geographically divided into six regions.

Letter from the President
Joshua Lawrence
Joshua J. Lawrence
President, 2009-2010

Welcome to the Official Website of the University of Illinois at Chicago chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers!!! Thank you for visiting our website. Hopefully, you will find it exciting, engaging, and informational.

Our chapter is yet growing and vibrant, and is looking to Fulfill the NSBE Mission in 2009 – 2010. During the last school term, we were able to take our chapter “To Another Level.” We garnered excitement from our members, UIC faculty, Chicago Public high school students, NSBE alumni, and more. Amongst our successes, our chapter reached 58 paid NSBE members as of June 12th, 2009, we held five corporate sponsor meetings, many chapter meetings, are in the process of starting a NSBE Jr. chapter at John Hope College Prep High School, we built partnerships with the UIC College of Engineering, the UIC chapters of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Chicago Public Schools, and held open houses to positively impact the community (including one we held with SHPE that attracted over 150 Chicago Public School AVID students). We are grateful to our generous sponsors and supporters who donated money and support for our various meetings, conferences, and events.

This year, we are aiming to further fulfill the NSBE Mission, which is to “increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers, who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.” We look to have an impact on the number of successful engineers (not just of African descent) who excel in their studies, have successful careers, and have a positive impact on their communities, while not forgetting their history or the places where they have come from.

It is with high hopes that I earnestly believe that this year will be successful and productive. Of course, there will be challenges and rough times, but if we continue to press towards our goals and surmount our obstacles without giving up, we will indeed meet and surpass the mark, reach our goals and more. I challenge you to join us as we embark on this journey!

Sincerely, Joshua Lawrence President, UIC Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers

NSBE History
We have compiled a short presentation on NSBE History.

Download/View "NSBE 101" (PDF, 2.4MB)

But if you want the full picture....

In 1971, two Purdue undergraduate students, Edward Barnetts (now deceased) and Fred Cooper approached the dean of engineering at Purdue University with the concept of starting the Black Society of Engineers (BSE). They wanted to establish a student organization to help improve the recruitment and retention of black engineering students. In the late 1960’s, a devastating 80 percent of the black freshmen entering the engineering program dropped out. The dean agreed to the idea and assigned the only black faculty member on staff, Arthur J. Bond, as advisor.

Barnett served as the first president of the BSE. The fledging group gained momentum in 1974, with the direction and encouragement of Bond and the active participation of the young men whose destiny was to become the founders of NSBE. Now known as the "Chicago Six", these men are Anthony Harris, Brian Harris, Stanley L. Kirtley, John W. Logan, Jr., Edward A. Coleman, and George A. Smith.

Encouraged by their on-campus success, Anthony Harris, president of the Purdue chapter, wrote a letter to the presidents and deans of every accredited engineering program in the country (288), explained the Society of Black Engineers (SBE) concept and asked them to identify black student leaders, organizations and faculty members who might support their efforts on a national basis. Approximately 80 schools responded. Many had similar Black student organizations with similar objectives. A date was set for the first national meeting and 48 students representing 32 schools attended the event, held April 10-12, 1975. Harris also changed the organizations’ nomenclature from the BSE to the Society of Black Engineers (SBE).

It was at that historic meeting through majority vote, that SBE became the National Society of Black Engineers. The familiar NSBE symbol "N" with lightning bolts was chosen and it remains a distinctively recognizable symbol representing the premier technical organization for African American engineering students and professionals. NSBE was eventually incorporated in Texas, in 1976 as a 501©3 non-profit organization. John Cason, also of Purdue, served as the first elected president of NSBE. As the organization grew, Virginia Booth became the first female National Chairperson and the first to serve two terms 1978-1980.

NSBE has since grown> from six to 30,000 (2008) members and the annual meeting has blossomed into the Annual National Convention, hosting over 8,000 attendees. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., NSBE offers academic excellence programs, scholarships, leadership training, professional development and access to career opportunities for thousands of members annually. With over 2000 elected leadership positions, 12 regional conferences and an annual convention, NSBE provides opportunities for success that remain unmatched by any other organization.

Documents and Downloads
Listed below are downloadable documents that are pertinent to NSBE UIC and NSBE in general:
Contact Information
Please see Contact Us for contact information.