The PACE concept was first conceived and implemented in 1982 by Members of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories and members of the National Technical Association (NTA), the oldest African-American organization of its kind. The founders were Wayne Brown, Ted Butler, David Hill, and Michael Sanders. They sought to design a program geared to expose, educate, and inspire more African-American high school students to opportunities available in engineering. The first site for PACE (PACE - Monmouth) was established at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey. The success of the program has led to its expansion, enabling us to serve more students and open new branches. In addition to PACE - Monmouth, the program is offered in New Brunswick, New Jersey (PACE YDC Central Jersey - hosted at Rutgers University, Busch Campus).

Business and Institutional Sponsors

PACE is the Program for Acceleration in Careers of Engineering, a science and engineering awareness program in which professionals volunteer their time to work with minority high school students to help prepare them for college and technical careers.

The primary objectives of the program are to: •increase African-American and Latino students’ awareness of and desire to pursue career opportunities in math, science, and engineering •enhance each student’s academic preparation for such careers •instill self-esteem, cultural pride, and awareness of African-American and Latino technical accomplishments