The Cadet Engineering Program (1970-1982)

Pierson and Gibson both had a keen awareness of the racial imbalance in the engineering profession in the U.S, and shared a desire to help remedy what they saw as injustice.

At the same time they welcomed the opportunity to diversify OU’s student population.

The underlying rationale for the program was that some potentially gifted students were unable to attend engineering school because of “social and cultural deprivation” or because they lacked money to finance their college education.