Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Waterfall, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Elizabeth Albrecht, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

students can benefit. Student needs can readily extendbeyond academic topics and provide a considerable challenge to effective advising. Thispaper explores the territory between student personal issues that faculty worry about havingto address and curriculum matters dealing with course selections and prerequisites. Effectivestudent advising demands that the entire range of issues be addressed, yet faculty are hesitant.Faculty can and should shoulder only a part of the burden but could benefit from viewing theadvisor-student relationship as an opportunity to help the student acquire life skills.What the authors have found to be true to a great extent is that a major need of students is tosimply talk, to talk to someone who cares. Engaging students

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Monica Young, Syracuse University; John Tillotson, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

doctoral/thesis advisorEncouragement from doctoral or thesis advisors was cited by a majority of faculty members asbeing a significant factor in their decision to pursue a doctoral degree. Male faculty memberstended to attribute this to the fact that, by default, an advisor becomes a mentor due to the natureof the relationship, though the depth of this relationship is often dependent on the personality ofthe advisor. Female faculty members were more likely to point out the need for extraencouragement from advisors to consider and actually pursue faculty positions in engineering.One female faculty member recalled: I thought I was just going to get a masters degree, get a job, and be done with my graduate education…he [advisor] is the

Conference Session

Money and People; Resource Management for Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debra Lasich, Colorado School of Mines; Candace Sulzbach, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

in1978. Starting with just a few students, it has grown to over 360 members and is the 3rdlargest section in the nation. In the fall of 2002, the new Society of Women Engineers(SWE) faculty advisor and the Executive Director for the Women in Science,Engineering and Mathematics (WISEM) Program recognized that the organization couldbe a vital resource in recruiting and retaining female students at CSM. They beganworking on developing partnerships with decision makers and key personnel in the areasof Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Admissions, Career Services, InstitutionalAdvancement and the Engineering Division. By doing so, they were able to secure boththe institutional commitment and the financial resources needed to provide prospectiveand