Get Cordelia Brown talking about how her office\u2019s new location has impacted its mission, and you\u2019ll hear one word over and over: Transform.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt has really transformed what we do and what our students can do,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Brown serves as director of the Engineering Academic Excellence Program (AEP), an academic and professional development support program launched in 1996 that enhances the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering through a wide range of programs and activities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
AEP supports participants from pre-college through graduation by facilitating expanded academic preparation, professional readiness and career path exploration in a community oriented learning environment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In September, that environment exploded in size.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
AEP was among the college\u2019s student support services that relocated to the new $44 million Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center, a move that Brown says has amplified the ability of AEP participants to take advantage of the program in ways its old home in Shelby Center simply didn\u2019t allow.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n