MPWG: Women's Retention and Leadership Development in Science, Engineering and Mathematics

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9453680 Watson Texas A&M University will develop a model program in science, engineering and mathematics (SEM) for women undergraduate and graduate students, with courses and activities, including mentoring, to encourage them to complete degrees in SEM fields, and consider careers in research. The courses will be connected with special team training activities for women in SEM. Seminars on gender issues, as they relate to students in these fields, will be planned and facilitated by students for their peers, faculty, employers, and public school educators. The project will involve students, faculty, and staff in the planning and presentation of Faculty Workshops relative to the classroom, laboratory and general environment for women in SEM. The overall goal is to improve the retention of women in these fields by enhancing their sense of belonging and acceptance, and to begin to change the faculty/staff who have created the environment contributing to women's lack of retention in SEM. Particular attention will be given to issues which concern women who also must deal with professional barriers to development or added burdens imposed by society. To effect retention of women in SEM, courses which apply toward degree credit will be developed at the freshman, junior, and graduate level. The freshman course will cover the history of women in science, engineering and mathematics, and fulfill a three-hour humanities requirement for any curriculum on campus. The course will have a weekly laboratory component which will be linked to the achievements of one or more of the women studied in class. The junior course will cover the Sociology of Women in non-traditional fields, especially science, engineering, and mathematics, and will fulfill an upper level social science requirement in any curriculum on campus. It will cover topics such as: social structure of gender and knowledge, the law, access and opportunities, and politics and unwritten policies. The intent is to he lp develop professional and personal skills which can enhance careers in SEM. The graduate courses, two one-hour seminars, will discuss procedures and politics, as well as make suggestions for excellence in university research and teaching careers. Course materials, (texts, instructor manuals, and laboratory manuals) will be prepared for dissemination of the courses to other campuses. ***