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Diversity: Support for Women

Women make up more than half of the general population, and the College of Engineering is moving closer toward that percentage every year. More women received undergraduate engineering degrees from the College in the 1999-2000 academic year than any other school in the nation. The College of Engineering Women in Engineering (WIE) Office, which is part of the larger University of Michigan Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program, ensures that women who come here to live and learn feel welcome.

The benefits to your organization
By supporting the College's efforts to enhance diversity, you perform a valuable public service and promote a positive image for your organization on campus, which may aid in recruitment. Your contributions will assist in increasing the numbers and diversity of the engineering workforce.

Discretionary Funding
The Women in Science and Engineering Program through the Women in Engineering Office provides support, programs, and encouragement in the recruitment and retention of women students. Contributions may be made to their discretionary funds to ensure that existing programs are maintained and new ones developed. Some examples include the following:

  • Contributions of $10,000 to $20,000 will support an annual WISE lectureship series, bringing ten to twelve outstanding women engineers to campus to present both departmental and college-wide lectures. The lectureship series will be named after the donor and will be identified as such in all publicity.
  • Contributions of $20,000 to $75,000 will support dedicated recruitment and retention programs for undergraduate women, including underrepresented minority women, to fields such as computer engineering or electrical engineering where the numbers of women remain unusually low.
  • Contributions of $20,000 to $75,000 will support the development of a program to aid in the transition of women from the degree program to the workforce. While we know that we do an excellent job in training highly competent and innovative engineers, we seldom address issues that women will face after graduation in the workplace.
  • Overall, graduation rates for women and men from the College of Engineering are very close. However, graduation rates for underrepresented minority students, male and female, although high by national standards, still lag behind the rates for their majority peers. Contributions of $20,000 to $100,000 will provide funding for research and intervention activities to ensure that all of our students are successful.

Outreach Program Sponsorship
Organizations can also sponsor outreach programs designed to appeal to middle- and high-school girls considering engineering as a profession. Contributions of $10,000 to $30,000 allow us to accept and sponsor girls that might not otherwise have this experience. Summer programs include the following:

  • Future Science/Future Engineering is a one-week hands-on science/engineering summer experience for 7th and 9th grade girls.
  • The Grace Hopper Project is a one-week summer program in computer science for high school girls.

Financial Aid
Scholarships and fellowships can be established at the College in an organization's name to encourage women students to pursue engineering and even to specialize in a particular discipline. A particularly critical need is support for students at the Masters level.

Mentoring Opportunities
Not every opportunity to interact with women students has a price tag; for instance, the under-
graduate and graduate chapters of SWE as well as the WISE Program actively seek out women engineers who are willing to mentor a woman student, to host a job shadow opportunity, or to serve as a speaker or a member of an advisory board.

For more information, contact:

Debbie Taylor, Director
Women in Engineering Office
University of Michigan College of Engineering
Robert H. Lurie Engineering Center
1221 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2102
(734) 647-7013 phone
(734) 647-7126 fax
dpoet@umich.edu e-mail
http://www.engin.umich.edu/students/support/wie
Cinda-Sue Davis, Director
Women in Science & Engineering Program
University of Michigan
Robert H. Lurie Engineering Center
1221 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2102
(734) 647-7012 phone
(734) 647-7126 fax
csdavis@umich.edu e-mail
http://www.wise.umich.edu