Conference Session

Retention Programs for Women Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helene Finger, California Polytechnic State University; Tracy Van Houten, University of Southern California; Barbara Curry, California Polytechnic State University; Jennifer Harris, United Parcel Service; Malia Francisco, United Parcel Service; Betsy Sale, United Parcel Service

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

technology that we have to wake up to.” The crisis that she isreferring to is our nation’s shrinking pool of scientists and engineers.1 One of the four mainrecommendations cited in the report to congress dealing with this issue, Rising Above theGathering Storm, Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future,2 involvesa call to “develop, recruit, and retain the best and brightest students, scientists, and engineers”.Unfortunately, one half of the best and brightest of our population are scarcely contributing toour engineering ranks, and their percentages of participation are declining. Page 12.186.2Female engineering students

Conference Session

An International Perspective

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hasmik Gharibyan, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

student surveys were carried out at Yerevan State University (YSU), the oldestuniversity in the country (founded in 1919). The choice of YSU as the site of research was basedon the following facts:1. YSU is one of the two largest universities in the country by the number of students (the other one is the State Engineering University of Armenia).2. YSU is by far the most “versatile” university in Armenia with the largest number and variety of fields that students can major in; it has 18 departments covering fields from Math and Sciences to History and Business, each of which has several programs (called “chairs”). Page 12.778.33. The CS

Conference Session

Mentoring

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suzanne Zurn-Birkhimer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Beth Holloway, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

arena to foster academic goals, establish personal connections, develop leadershipand mentoring skills, and address their personal aspirations. These goals are achieved within theframework of a networking mentoring model which has been outlined by Walthall, Hollowayand Reklaitis.1 They found that students who participated in the WIEP GMP were more likely tobe retained in the Purdue University College of Engineering graduate program due to the supportnetwork and community environment such a group provides. However, due to a recent declinein participation, an innovative departmental-based group mentoring component was introducedto the program in Fall 2007. The goal of the component is to encourage participants to act asboth mentors and mentees

Conference Session

Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nadia Kellam, University of Georgia; Ashley Babcock, University of Georgia; David Gattie, University of Georgia-Athens

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

is acceptable.7 "Male-normed classrooms, often dubbed "chilly" climates forwomen, have generally been described in the literature as competitive, weed-out systems that arehierarchically structured with impersonal professors."1 This description of the engineeringclassroom is representative of the engineering learning environment that many engineeringstudents experience and that often lead to females having less self confidence or self-efficacy.8,9Additionally, within the learning environment research, the quality of the learning environmentinfluences the learning that takes place in that environment.10 The authors propose to take the Page

Conference Session

At The Institutional Level

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Judy Loveless-Morris, University of Washington; Priti Mody-Pan; Robert Embrey, Highline Community College; Kali Kuwada, Seattle Central Community College; Marisela Mendoza, Columbia Basin College; Robert Olsen, Washington State University; Eve Riskin, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

concern. In 2002, six colleges at the four year and community college level, along withseveral other key institutions collaborated to form the Northwest Engineering Talent ExpansionPartnership (NW-ETEP). The main goal of the project is to increase the number of URMs andfemales who earn undergraduate engineering degrees, but it also provides a unique opportunityto discuss the challenges and benefits of multi-institutional research. Collaborative research andevaluation is becoming common practice amongst those interested in the underrepresentation ofURMs in science and engineering 1. While the concept and benefits of coalitions are wellaccepted, the challenges of multi-institutional analysis are often undiscussed 3. This exploratorypaper will

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nina Dahlmann, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Maria Elsner, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Sabina Jeschke, University of Stuttgart; Nicole Natho, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Christian Schroeder, Technische Universitaet Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

social andeconomic needs. One of the goals of the project GALILEA 1 is to design and implementinnovative new undergraduate courses that attract a gender-balanced ratio of students at theBerlin Institute of Technology. In this article we describe the design and implementation of anexemplary new course. The bachelor course of “Natural Sciences in the Information Society”was the first of the GALILEA courses starting in winter term 2007/08. Its goals and innovationsare illustrated in detail.IntroductionOur society needs qualified specialists. Industry 2 has been referring to the increasing demand ofexperts for years. According to the German Federal Statistical Office DESTATIS 3, a slowincrease of undergraduates in engineering and natural sciences

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenna Carpenter, Louisiana Tech University; C. Diane Matt, WEPAN Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

“online knowledge management and collaboration software”1 designed for “communities ofpractice and knowledge networks”2. With a WKC “it becomes possible to tap into and utilizethe collective knowledge of a group. Communities of practice represent collections of people thatshare common professional objectives and whose collaborative relationships support theorganization's goals. Among the many benefits of supporting and growing these communitiesare:• Capturing knowledge• Sharing best practices• Solving problems quickly• Driving Innovation Page 13.1396.5• Enabling professional developmentProject personnel explored 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

recognition among the members through sponsorships andfinancial support.Since the Career Center reports to the Vice President for Student Affairs, the principalinstitutional commitment for the section was provided through his office. In fact, due tohis support of the organization he was (and still is) deemed by the members as the SWEMascot. This support base began to extend outside of the Student Affairs area when Page 13.1260.3SWE began partnering with the WISEM Program, which was established in 1997. Withthe WISEM Program reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the process ofincreasing institutional support began (see Figure 1

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Birmingham, Grove City College; Mara Wasburn, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

for collegesand universities to learn what impact, if any, the availability of tenure-track positions may haveon their ability to attract and retain women faculty to meet this need.Using qualitative and quantitative data, this study examines the work life balance and jobsatisfaction of women engineering and technology faculty both on and off the tenure track.Recommendations for academic policies and practices based on their responses are offered.IntroductionThe number of full time, tenured faculty positions on college and university campuses has beendeclining nationwide. In fact, the majority of faculty hires since 1990 have been off the tenuretrack; a disproportionate number of those new hires are women.1 In the 1980s, only about 12% ofthe

Conference Session

The Impact of Engineering Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Malady, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Whitney Bopp, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Alexa Jones, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Brittany McNair, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Kim Norris, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Amy Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

faculty and male peers as reasons for leaving. Seymour andHewitt conclude that the loss of capable women cannot be changed without changing traditionalfaculty norms and practices; unfortunately, their study did not include the faculty who—according to the primary findings of this work—are responsible for the most important factors instudents’ retention.Who We AreWe are a group of five women undergraduate students and one woman faculty in ECE atVirginia Tech—the fourth largest undergraduate engineering program in the USA21. We studentsare all “persisters” who will earn our ECE degrees: 4 of us are juniors and 1 is a senior. Three ofus self-identify as white/Caucasian, one self-identifies as African American and one self-identifies as Asian

Conference Session

The Pipeline

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Plotkowski, Grand Valley State University; Mary Ann Sheline, Grand Valley State University; Margo Dill, Grand Valley State University; Jessica Noble, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

’ perspectives onwomen working in STEM fields and their own success and interest in pursuing a STEMcareer. Our initial results suggest the STEPS camps show promise in addressing thiscritical national shortage crisis.A National DilemmaFor the past 50 years, the United States of America has made monumental contributionsin science and mathematics achievements, but today, workforce issues are challengingAmerica’s manufacturing industry. Employment in traditional manufacturing goodssectors will decline overall by 1.5 million jobs, which is half of the 3 millionmanufacturing jobs lost in the previous decade (1996-2006).1 Industries with the largestprojected wage and salary employment declines are in the traditional manufacturingsector

Conference Session

The Pipeline

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tania Monterastelli, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Julia Ross, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

start of each session. During the program a guided tour of theNorthrop Grumman site located near BWI (November 1) was arranged for the students. In aneffort to reward student participation, dedication, and interest in the program, numerousopportunities to win gift card prizes for Best BuyTM were provided. Cash prizes were alsoawarded to the top performing design projects at the final evening of the YESS program.Weekly SeminarsThe 7 week YESS seminar program was designed to inform students about the field ofengineering, including its importance and opportunities, as well as to expose students to thinkinglike an engineer. These goals were accomplished through presentations from weekly guestspeakers and games and design challenges held throughout

Conference Session

Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joye Jepson, Antioch University; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

to (1) curricular flexibility, (2)continuous learning by students, and (3) diversity in engineering education. Additionally, keythemes identified in our review of the literature on women in engineering focused on (1)historical male-domination of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)fields, (2) the need for intervention programs for women and minorities to keep their interest inSTEM fields and (3) the need for educational system changes to include both curriculum andfaculty role-models and influence. In this paper we show how it appears that the trends inengineering education are in line with and supportive of the themes underlying the types ofchanges needed to draw more women into engineering.Background and MethodsThis

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristen Constant, Iowa State University; Sharon Bird, Iowa State University; Florence Hamrick, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

participation of individuals at all levels of the university. Atthe department level, faculty in nine focal departments, three from the college of engineering,form the core department-level working groups. A three-step process for departmentaltransformation includes (1) focus groups to discuss department culture, practice and structure, (2)needs assessment meetings and training sessions tailored to meet the unique needs of individualdepartments, and (3) collaborative problem solving sessions involving department faculty andADVANCE program leaders. Key partners are a college “Equity Advisor”, a department-embedded “ADVANCE Professor” and the department chair. The first ADVANCE departmentin the College of Engineering at ISU is Materials Science and

Conference Session

The Impact of Engineering Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Moshe Hartman, Retired; Harriet Hartman, Rowan University; Jennifer Kadlowec, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

spring identified themselves as having abioengineering concentration. They form the “bioengineering” group in our analysis, and arecompared to the rest of the students. Table 1 shows how the self-identified bioengineeringstudents compare to the rest of the engineering students in terms of year in engineering, major,and gender. Approximately half of all engineering students are upper-level, while more than halfof the bioengineering concentrates are upper-level, which may be explained by the fact thatstudents do not have to declare the concentration upon entering as first-year students and oftendo not start taking classes to fulfill the concentration until the junior year.TABLE 1BIOENGINEERING CONCENTRATE BY GENDER, YEAR IN PROGRAM, AND MAJOR

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thea Sahr, WGBH Educational Foundation; Natalie Hebshie, WGBH Educational Foundation

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Conference Session

Focus on High School Girls in Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Porche, Wellesley Center for Women; Jennifer Grossman, Wellesley Center for Women; Anne Noonan, Salem State College; Peter Wong, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

encourage girls, presentation of STEMopportunities that appeal to girls and speak to their interests). Implications for teaching andpractice are discussed.Background Even as girls’ and women’s participation in some areas of science has risen considerablyin the past few years, the field of engineering has changed very little with rates of femaleengineering majors estimated at between 18 and 20% 1. Research on the patterns of girls’progression in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline is wellestablished 2, documenting attrition which begins in middle school and continues throughgraduate school. On the other hand, women who do enter into college science and engineeringprograms tend to be successful 3. Thus it is critical

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Girls and Young Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Burkett, University of Arkansas; Claire Small, Springdale High School; Charles Rossetti, University of Arkansas; Bryan Hill, University of Arkansas; Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

school system with much diversity, andthis diversity was reflected in the day camp program participation. The demographicbreakdown of the 24 students participating in the inaugural camp was 50% Caucasian, 42%Hispanic and 8% African American.The camp was staffed for a student-mentor ratio over 4:1, ensuring an enjoyable and safeexperience plus the ability to provide a challenging curriculum. The mentoring team consistedof two certified Project Lead the Way (PLTW) instructors, two female SHS Pre-engineeringstudents, one UA faculty member, and two female UA undergraduate engineering students. Allmentors were in the classroom every day. Women undergraduate engineering students whoparticipate in outreach activities show tremendous interest in helping

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Girls and Young Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joan Kowalski, Penn State University - New Kensington; Tracie L. Brockhoff, Penn State University - New Kensington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Program for 2007 was $5,087 thanks to budgeting, volunteerefforts and creative programming. Funding from a variety of sources (both internal and external)ensured the success of the FIRSTE Program again this summer.Annual FIRSTE Program Survey ResultsFor the past fifteen years, the FIRSTE Program has directed a considerable number ofparticipants toward actually selecting engineering, science or technology as a career of choice.For others, these fields of study have at least become viable options.This summer, all FIRSTE participants who have graduated from high school this year weresurveyed by phone. Their responses, along with those from previous surveys, have beencompiled into the statistics shown in the following two tables. In Table 1, eight of

Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Betsy Homsher, Kettering University; Janet Brelin-Fornari, Kettering University; Terri Lynch-Caris, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

their co-curricular activities. We measure facultysatisfaction. Also, we survey mentors for information about their LITE experiences. Theknowledge gained from our assessment tools (which have grown in number and content over thepast six years) allows us to maintain a dynamic climate for participants, faculty, and studentmentors. An overview of selected assessment highlights and their impact on all aspects of theprogram are listed in Table 1.Faculty Seven tenured faculty teach all LITE Program courses and facilitate all labs. In additionto their program teaching responsibilities, the faculty develop personal relationships withparticipants by attending a variety of social events, including concerts, barbeques, and the like.The inclusion

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Monica Young, Syracuse University; John Tillotson, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

must carefully examine how current female engineering faculty members havesuccessfully negotiated the path to the professoriate.Statement of the ProblemIn the two largest fields of engineering, mechanical and electrical/computer, the percentage offemale tenured or tenure-track faculty members are 9.8 and 8.5 percent, respectively20. Giventhat there are over 4,500 teaching personnel in each of these fields teaching an undergraduatepopulation of 80,288 mechanical and 75,302 electrical engineering students, it would seem likelythat a higher proportion of the teaching personnel are females20. To visualize the stark contrastwith other fields in engineering, Figure 1 shows the faculty member numbers in each field ofengineering broken down by gender

Conference Session

The Impact of Engineering Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Venetia Dover, Howard University; Dawn Williams, Howard University; Lorraine Fleming, Howard University; Viara Quinones, Howard University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

findings provide insights about the role that academic climate plays on the postbaccalaureate decision making process.IntroductionResearch suggest that the number of women earning baccalaureate degrees in science andengineering has increased every year since 1966 (excluding 1988) and by 2004 women earned44% of master’s degrees in science and engineering (as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2)1.Although the number of baccalaureate degrees for men in science and engineering reached over224,000 in 2004, the number of master’s degrees earned by men in the sciences and engineeringdeclined during the 1990s (as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2)2. Figure 1. Bachelor's degrees awarded in S&E and non-S&E fields

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

withstudents. As such, faculty generally do not feel equipped to perform what is commonlyreferred to as developmental advising. According to Crookston, developmental academicadvising “is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision but also withfacilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions,behavioral awareness, and problem-solving, decision-making, and evaluation skills. Not onlyare these advising functions but…they are essentially teaching functions as well.”1 Frostsuggests that “developmental advisors rarely make decisions for students…..Developmentaladvising emphasizes process, not product.” 2 In essence, developmental advising focuses onhelping students identify life goals while

Conference Session

Mentoring

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Terri Camesano, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; David DiBiasio, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kristen Billiar, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Marsha Rolle, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Susan Zhou, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

opportunity, it is natural for them to want to sharetheir knowledge and enthusiasm with even younger students. We focused the outreach portionsof our work on middle-school students because attitudes towards engineering are formed at anearly age. For females, the following critical points are noted: 1) girls’ self-esteem begins todecline during the middle-school years, and affects their academic performance and their choiceof classes in school; 2) there is a circular relationship between girls’ affection for science, theirself-esteem, and their career plans; and 3) without pursuing science and math courses in middle-school, girls will be left behind in high school and unable to pursue college degrees inengineering. Currently, in virtually every

Conference Session

Focus on High School Girls in Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Brake, Eastern Michigan University; Kaninka Bhatnagar, Eastern Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

-.295* CONF PRNT .479** .014 GSS GRAD -.116 -.331* GSS FAM .058 .286* GRAD FAM .191 -.367**** Significant at alpha = .01 level, or there is a 99% probability that the result is not by chance.* Significant at alpha = .05 level, or there is a 95% probability that the result is not by chance. Page 13.639.8Table III: Pearson Correlation Matrix for the Entire SampleN=81 1:SMET 2:WORK 3:CONF 4:FAM 5:LOC 6:TECH 7:GRAD 8:GTP 9:GSS

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa McClain, Boise State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Janet Callahan, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

before, casualobservers might conclude that significant progress has been made in creating an equitableclimate in academia. A preponderance of recent studies, however, demonstrate that while womenand individuals from other underrepresented groups have gained access to some faculty andadministrative positions, this has not necessarily translated into consistent patterns of successthrough all levels of academic hierarchies and leadership positions. For example, someuniversities do a good job of recruiting and hiring women faculty and faculty of color, yetbeyond this, both groups are consistently underrepresented at certain levels of facultyadministration, such as department chair, dean, and endowed chairs.1-7In 2005, Boise State University, a mid

Conference Session

Focus on Under-Represented Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Donohue, University of Virginia; Larry Richards, University of Virginia; Carolyn Vallas, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

ofAY 2005, 19.3%.6). The data are from the American Society for Engineering Education’s(ASEE) series Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges.1-5The observation that overall retention rate of female undergraduates has been relatively flat orrising slowly for the past decade despite concerted, dedicated efforts at many institutionsmotivates this research and leads to the conclusion, reinforced by representative entries in theliterature,7-9 that there are entrenched cultural barriers, both institutional and personal, toretention/persistence of female undergraduates in engineering to graduation. This research Page

Conference Session

At The Institutional Level

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Didion, Association for Women in Science; Karen Peterman, Goodman Research Group, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Needs Assessment Survey was hosted on a web site forthree weeks. An email and two follow-up emails were sent during this period to a listservof approximately 4,000 members. A total of 1,067 members responded to the survey.Table 1 presents the demographic profile of the PLTW respondents who completed thesurvey. As you can see from the table below, the majority of the survey respondentswere male and white. Most of respondents were teachers (89%) and there was a largerange of teaching experience.Survey respondents were given eight topics and were asked to rate the extent to whichthey thought each topic was an important issue to the field of engineering on a scale of 1(Not at All) to 5 (Extremely). The ratings of these topics are below in Table 2

Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Caroline Hayes, University of Minnesota

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

students and faculty in a variety ofscience and engineering fields. The paper focuses on engineering at colleges and universitiesbecause of the role which these institutions have in inspiring both women and men to chooseengineering as a field, and their potential to change the composition and size of the futureworkforce. Findings include that for fields dominated by men in the 1960s 1) those fields withthe highest (or lowest) proportions of women students in the 60’s still have the highest (orlowest) proportions of women students today, and 2) the proportion of women students is highlycorrelated with the proportion of women faculty in a field. This may suggest that increasing thenumber of women faculty may be a strategy for more rapidly attracting

Conference Session

Money and People; Resource Management for Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

table:Acad. Total New F M Underrep- BSE/ BSE/ Total MSE/ MSE/ PhDYear Students resented BS BS On to MS MS enrolled Minority earned enrolled Grad earned enrolled School2002- 22 9 13 5 20 1 (bus.) 7 2 3 4032003- 19 12 7 6 18 0 7 4 3 0042004- 5 1 4 0 5 0 1 0 1 0052005- 10 1 9 3 6 4 3