Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Hailey, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

women’s roles are alsoaddressed in the course through selection of speakers with a variety of personal/professional lifesolutions as well as supporting materials from the USU ADVANCE Institutional TransformationAward. To overcome the small number of freshmen women interested in engineering, data fromthe Women’s Experiences in College Engineering project is shared to help the studentsunderstand their feelings are typically aligned with a larger body of female students across thecountry. Student reflections acquired through required essay questions and examinations arepresented to help understand whether their career choices are influenced by conservativeattitudes toward family and women’s roles. Preliminary retention data is

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Creamer, Virginia Tech; Soyoung Lee, Virginia Tech; Peggy Meszaros

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

processing.Theoretical Framework We employ the developmental construct of self-authorship as a theoretical lens tounderstand the cognitive processes students use to make decisions, including career decisions9.Defined as “the ability to collect, interpret, and analyze information and reflect on one’s ownbeliefs in order to form judgments” (p. 143) 6, self-authorship is grounded in the work of Perry33 Page 11.632.2and Kegan23. Self-authorship is linked to decision making because it influences how individualsmake meaning of the advice they receive from others and the extent that the reasoning theyemploy reflects an internally grounded sense of self6, 7, 8

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Litzler, University of Washington; Sheila Edwards Lange, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

experiences ofundergraduate women, the construct of a “chilly climate” has been extended to includeexperiences outside the classroom, graduate student experiences and the academic workplace forfemale faculty and administrators1-5. A chilly climate is defined by the isolation, subtlediscrimination and persistent micro-inequities experienced by women and underrepresentedgroups in academic settings. Hall and Sandler identified behaviors that overlook, ignore,discount or single out women, and reflect preconceived ideas about the ability of women tosucceed in academic settings4.However, context seems to matter in the experience of climate in engineering departments.Climate in science and engineering disciplines is more problematic than in other

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado-Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

that worked in refugee camps in areas hit with natural disasters and civil conflicts. Atthe end of the semester, students write reflective essays on civil engineering and why they maywant to become civil engineers. In these essays, 50% of the 8 women and 21% of the 84 menstated an interest in serving society. One female student wrote: “I was surprised and interested toread [about] the international and service aspects.... I would like to find out more about this formof ‘emergency civil engineering’.” Another female student commented: “I like that I would bedoing something that makes a difference in the community.”The three-credit First-Year Engineering Projects course (GEEN 1400) has had a few sectionsfocused on “Appropriate Technology” over

Conference Session

Women Faculty Issues and NSF's ADVANCE program

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Aultman-Hall, University of Connecticut; Britt Holmen, University of Connecticut

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

advancing all areas of engineering will be better if based on a diversity of ideas and experience from people of different backgrounds and groups within society. (2) The leaders of organizations and institutions are critical elements in defining the organizational culture that is essential to attracting and maintaining diversity in engineering. Leaders are vital to setting future direction and should reflect the full diversity of our communities. Unfortunately, engineering leadership does not reflect the full extent of diversity in society today. Page 11.1050.2 (3) Women leaders will attract more women and promote diversity at all

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nina Dahlmann, Technische Universitat Berlin, Inst. f. Mathematik; Sabina Jeschke, Technische Universitat Berlin, Inst. f. Mathematik; Christian Thomsen, Technische Universitat Berlin; Marc Wilke, Technische Universitat Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

highnumber of women applying for a trainee program at planetaria but also by the amount of womenwho, during their studies of Physics, choose Astronomy as elective course. This preference isalso reflected in the general numbers of women in Physics; 10 % of all Physicists are womenwhile 30 % of all graduates and scientific assistants in Astrophysics are female.For a more detailed overview of the model course Bachelor & Master of Natural Science seeappendices A and B.Bachelor & Master of Intercultural EngineeringThe requirements engineers have to meet have changed dramatically during the past years. Amodern engineer is not a Gyro Gearloose anymore, who is sitting in his/her garage developingnext-generation computer chips, but rather employees

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christina Vogt, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

, andcontext in an ongoing process toward goal attainment or abandonment.Zimmerman12 expanded upon Bandura's11 work claiming that one's outcomes can be alteredthrough self-reflection and assessment culminating in personal efforts to self-regulate (self), byundertaking tasks to enhance achievement (behavior). This was later known as self-regulatedlearning. Zimmerman12 found that of the three constructs, environment was the most importantbecause it will either enhance or discourage student engagement and persistence. Consequently,using the premise of Zimmerman,12 contrasting the environmental variables (i.e., academicintegration or faculty distance) with the relevant self (self-efficacy and academic confidence) andbehavior (effort, critical thinking and

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alicia Abadie, Louisiana State University; Ann Christy, Ohio State University; Marybeth Lima, Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

originally named agricultural engineering have been changed to includebiological or biological systems to reflect this shift. The primary professional society of thediscipline, the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (founded in 1907) changed its nameto the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in 2005. Students with aninterest in biological engineering comprise the vast majority of students enrolled in BAEprograms. Page 11.902.2 1This study was motivated by an informal conversation among female faculty in BAEdepartments during the 1998 ASEE meeting. After determining that our

Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Vallas, University of Virginia; Anaïs Miodek, University of Virginia; Larry Richards, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

researchers.One area in which the REU needs improvement is in recruiting female faculty to work withstudents. There are not many women faculty currently collaborating on the UVa REU (see Table3). Progress in this area is mitigated by the lack of women faculty currently part of the UVaEngineering faculty. This is also reflective of the low proportion of women in Engineeringnationwide. However, female faculty serve as important role models for the participants and it ishelpful to the male as well as the female participants to see a gender balance among theirmentors. The most important aim regarding the faculty remains to have them serve as supportivementors for the participants, regardless of gender or ethnicity, since “faculty can discouragewomen with

Conference Session

Women & New Faculty Development

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eve Riskin, University of Washington; Kate Quinn, University of Washington; Joyce Yen, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

to faculty. For others, the policy information isseen as a recruiting tool, making the guidebook useful only during searches. A couple chairsnoted that the policy synopsis for their campus did not reflect practice, making them aware of theneed to have the policy information updated online. The guidebook is seen by a few chairs as aresource only for policy makers, and they have given it to their dean, provost, or chancellor or totheir ADVANCE department or Women’s Committee. The guidebook has been useful tocampuses interested in benchmarking themselves by what family-friendly policies their peerinstitutions offer. Similarly, for campuses in the process of modifying existing or adopting newfamily-friendly policies, the guidebook has provided

Conference Session

International and Sustainability Perspectives and Women in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mike Murphy; Cecilia Chan, Dublin Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

comes to “girls-only” activities, they enjoy the idea, but Page 11.1456.6the participation rate does not reflect their stated interest. In this aspect, it is true womenwant to feel special, but yet there exists a need to balance. It is hoped to include the malegender for some of the future activities to create the balance. A competitive spirit wouldalso be an asset between female and male, a healthy trait for the “well adjustedyoungster” in engineering.2.1.3 STAGE 3: Post-College ~ Postgraduates, research and academic staff CohortAs China and India are becoming increasingly globalise and economically strong due toits massive population and cheap

Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harriet Hartman, Rowan University; Moshe Hartman, Retired

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

themselves (e.g., reported 0 females, when they were a female themselves;unfortunately, if they reported at least 1 female and were female themselves, there was no way toknow if they had excluded themselves or not).Grades were indicated by a self-reported response about engineering grade on the secondsemester survey, reflecting grades in the first semester’s engineering clinic, as the secondsemester had not yet ended. In the first year engineering grades are almost always exclusively inengineering clinic, as the students are otherwise scheduled for general education, computerscience and math classes but no other engineering classes. Sample programs of study can befound on the College of Engineering’s website, www.rowan.edu/engineering.Persistence in

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen White, Purdue University; Mara Wasburn, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

science, engineering, and technicalworkforce and to bring best practices to communities nationwide.3 The report describes ashortfall of scientists, engineers, and other technically skilled workers.Much research literature documents the under representation of women in science, technology,engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, linking this problem to the attitudes and behaviors ofgirls from elementary school through graduate studies and employment. The studies reflect aclear gender distinction at all ages,4,5 showing that as girls grow older, there is steady decline inthe number expressing interest in STEM subjects, and a corresponding decline in the numbers ofwomen entering higher levels of study. Numerous programs proposed, and implemented

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pat Pyke, Boise State University; Leandra Aburusa-Lete, Boise State University; Christa Budinoff, Visioneering LLC; Janet Callahan; Michael Luque, Boise School District; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Michelle Taylor, Micron Technology, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

percent of high school girls reported currently participating in team sports.12 The Boise community reflects a similar focus on sports. 3. They have little contact with women in engineering fields. With only about 11% women13 in the overall engineering workforce, teenage girls are unlikely to encounter women engineering role models. Even if young women choose to major in engineering, many students nationally will earn their bachelor’s degrees without ever being taught by a female professor.14 (Although, Boise State University has an unusually high percentage of female faculty, at three times the national average.) 4. They are flocking to professions where they feel they can make meaningful contributions to

Conference Session

1st Year Retention Programs for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Whitney Edmister, Virginia Tech; Amanda Martin, Virginia Tech; Bevlee Watford, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

at least 4 hours long. Students were permitted to pick one of the projectsprovided by the instructor or they could find a service learning project themselves. All servicelearning projects not provided by the instructor required instructor approval prior to the start ofthe project. At the completion of the service learning project students were required to submit a2-3 page reflection on the service learning experience.At the end of the semester, a list of the different activities was compiled for future reference.The agencies that benefited from the service-learning project can be found in Table 3.Table 3. Service-learning agencies for Hypatia program Big Sisters- Southwest Virginia

Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

De'Jeune Antoine, Xavier University of Louisiana; Mica Hutchison, Purdue University; Deborah Follman, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

and major. At theculmination of the program, students were required to create a poster to be judged by university Page 11.1333.4faculty, give an oral presentation, or write a final report.Procedure An online qualitative/quantitative survey was emailed to all students in the program.Students were given the opportunity to participate in the study on a voluntary basis and wereinformed that their survey responses were completely confidential and would not be linked totheir individual identities. The survey was made available approximately two weeks before theend of the program, allowing participants to accurately reflect on their work and

Conference Session

Women & New Faculty Development

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie Jessop, University of Iowa

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

meetings (by phone or in person) to get up to speed without exhausting your energyreserves.7,17Once you are back to work, assess your activities wisely. Which should be discontinued to makeroom for your new responsibilities as a parent? Although it is difficult to bow out at times,especially if we enjoy the activity, the reality is that we only have a limited amount of time,energy and resources. Saying “no” to an activity today does not necessarily mean that you willnever be able to do it again. Your priorities have changed, and your activities should reflect it.Do not let other people force their priorities upon you or allow yourself to get overloaded!Colleagues may need to be reminded of your increased responsibilities. Some of my malecolleagues

Conference Session

Women Faculty Issues and NSF's ADVANCE program

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Pieronek, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

looking beyond, for example, thenumbers of female faculty in a particular program, such as engineering, and looking beyondmere compensation figures. An over-representation of women in the lowest faculty ranks mayindicate some form of discrimination in the promotion and tenure process, or it may simplyreflect recently stepped-up efforts to increase the representation of women on an engineeringfaculty by hiring larger numbers of new Ph.D. recipients.37 Similarly, a salary differentialbetween male and female faculty members of apparently similar rank and responsibility mayresult from some form of discrimination in the compensation process, or it may reflect someother intangible factors not readily apparent from reviewing a salary spreadsheet.12,37