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NSBE History
NSBE Mission
The mission of the National Society of Black Engineers is "to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community."
In 1974, Edward Coleman, Anthony Harris, Brian Harris, Stanley L. Kirtley, John W. Logan Jr., and George Smith the “Chicago Six”, along with a host of other Purdue Engineering students and professor Arthur J. Bond, Ph.D. formed the first chapter of the, then, Society of Black Engineers. After contacting the other 288 accredited engineering schools, the Purdue SBE held its first annual meeting in April 1975 with 48 students from 32 schools. It was at that meeting that they unanimously voted to form the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
In 1976, NSBE was incorporated as a 501 c(3) national non-profit, and John Cason became the first elected president of the organization. Two years later in 1978, Virginia Booth became the first female national chair and the first chair to serve two (2) terms. Since then, NSBE Alumni (now NSBE Professionals) was formed in 1989, and, in 1990, the first NSBE Jr. chapters were formed, setting a firm foundation to realize the NSBE mission.
The National Society of Black Engineers is now an international non-profit organization with over 650 chapters and 30,000 members across the world. From junior/pre-college, collegiate, to the professional level, NSBE is an all-inclusive organization welcoming members of any creed, culture, race, or ethnicity who support the NSBE mission.
As the guiding principles suggest and as the logo symbolizes, then to now, NSBE members continue to have a burning desire (flame) to achieve engineering excellence and have a striking impact (lightning bolts) on society and industry for generations to come (torch).
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