The Aerospace Corporation Presents Diversity Award
to William Hatton and Ernest Long Jr.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (6/14/07)— The Aerospace Corporation has presented its Excellence in Diversity Award to employees Dr. William G. Hatton and Ernest Long Jr.
Hatton and Long become the fourth and fifth recipients of the award, which was created in 2004 to acknowledge the company’s commitment to promoting diversity and to recognize employees who support this commitment by leadership and example.
Aerospace President and CEO William F. Ballhaus Jr. told employees during an awards ceremony June 12 at the company’s headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., that identifying a single winner among the nominees proved difficult for the selection committee, which decided on two awardees. He said both Hatton and Long exhibited “an unquestioned commitment to diversity,” but “each has a different approach to increasing and nurturing diversity at Aerospace.”
Hatton, systems director for SBIRS (Space Based Infrared Systems) Advanced Programs, was cited for “hiring with diversity as a goal” and creating “a group of employees that is highly diverse, productive, and accomplished.” He said Hatton’s organization “has been formally recognized for its inclusiveness by senior Air Force officials as a positive model in the industry.” Hatton’s efforts over five years included hiring, training, and mentoring women, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans, all of whom have received awards, recognition, promotions, and superior performance evaluation reports from Aerospace customers, Ballhaus said.
Long, who is director of the Digital Communications Implementation Department, was recognized “for his committed involvement in student and community efforts to inspire and identify the next generation of engineers and scientists,” Ballhaus said.
Long, Ballhaus added, has served as the Electronic Systems Division’s summer intern coordinator for 10 years and has been heavily involved in the company’s GEM program— which stands for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science—“mentoring one recent graduate in the program each year for the last 10 years.” In addition, Long volunteers 20 hours of his time a month at a nonprofit organization in South Los Angeles that provides counseling and psychotherapy services and “has been a big supporter” of the Herndon Science Competition, which annually brings middle- and high-school students to The Aerospace Corporation to compete for summer jobs and savings bonds.
“Both men are a great asset to the corporation and to the men and women they mentor, work with, and inspire,” Ballhaus said.
Hatton and Long received trophies with a golden globe as the centerpiece and cash awards of $5,000.
Past recipients of the Diversity Award include Victoria Ndefo (2004), Willard Downs (2005), and Xavier Galindo (2006).
The Aerospace Corporation, based in El Segundo, Calif., is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for national-security space programs and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.
Contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org
