The submitted nomination package is in support of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) to recognize outstanding mentoring efforts or programs that enhance the participation of historically underrepresented groups in science, mathematics, and engineering.
The nominee, Mr. Alonzo W. Ashley, is an emeritus staff member of the Stanford University Linear Accelerator (SLAC). He developed the SLAC Summer Research Program for underrepresented minority undergraduates in STEM (now called the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program). In addition, he was responsible for SLAC's charter membership in the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Science and Engineering (GEM).
The programs that Mr. Ashley developed have been responsible for having recruited and retained minorities to graduate degrees in physical sciences at SLAC - at least ten African American Ph.D. physicists, and dozens of master's degree level engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, and environmental scientists. Ashley has also initiated many partnerships in support of his mentoring objectives, including between the National Society of Black Engineers and the San Jose Tech Museum, and between SLAC and Fisk, Savannah State, Paine College, and Southern University (all HBCUs). The later partnership was developed to provide a mentor program for HBCU faculty.