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Session 2547

Developing a Plan for Recruiting and Retaining Women and Minorities in Engineering Technology at Western Kentucky University

Stacy S. Wilson

Western Kentucky University

I. Introduction

The underrepresentation of females and minorities in the areas of science, engineering, and technology is recognized as a serious issue facing academia and industry1. Researchers now understand that the experience of young women in science and math classes is much different than that of young men2. Recently, the Department of Engineering Technology at Western Kentucky University (WKU) has begun to focus on the need for recruiting and retaining more women and minorities into its programs. Traditionally, the percentage of women and minorities in the Department of Engineering Technology at WKU has been extremely low. The Women Embracing Engineering (WEE) and Minorities in Engineering (MIE) programs are currently being organized to address the issues of low enrollment and retention. The initiation of these programs is being planned for August 2000.

The WEE and MIE programs are expected to have a wide range of impact on the young women and minority students of south central Kentucky. Often capable young women and minority students do not pursue careers in science, engineering, and technology for reasons such as lack of encouragement, lack of information, lack of opportunity, and lack of role models. By providing all of these, this program will stimulate the interest of underrepresented groups in these areas. In addition, these projects will lay the groundwork for continuing the recruitment and offering opportunities to women and minorities engineering.

The goals of the WEE and MIE programs are as follows: ♦ Identify and encourage women and minorities to pursue ET degrees at WKU; ♦ Expose the field of engineering to K-12 students through appropriate female and minority role models; ♦ Provide female and minority students opportunities to experience engineering prior to entering college; and ♦ Mentor female and minority students throughout their academic career at WKU.

These goals will be reached through the following objectives:

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Wilson, S. S. (2000, June), Developing A Plan For Recruiting And Retaining Women And Minorities In Engineering Technology At Wku Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8281