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WiE Newsletter -March 2023 - ISSUE 36
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Front and Center News from the Director
I don’t know whether Punxsutawney Phil saw a shadow, but I’m seeing robins, crocuses and a daffodil or two so I’m calling it Spring! And with Spring comes the energy for added efforts and a reflection of our accomplishments.
REMEMBER, ALL ARE WELCOME at WiE EVENTS
With Warm Regards for a safe and healthy Spring!
Dr. Shelly Heller
WiE Center Director
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Our regular Meet Our Faculty features one of our faculty members in a presentation about their career, teaching and research as well as how they include students in their work at GW. This month we are excited to have Dr. Anna-Laure Papa share her expertiese with us. Dr. Anna-Laure Papa is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Advanced Cellular Diagnostics & Therapeutics Lab.
Dr. Papa will discuss her research "The platelet-circulating tumor cell interplay in cancer metastasiss."Professor Papa has developed an expertise in engineering novel therapeutic platforms at the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine. She focuses her work on disease processes, particularly in cancer and vascular diseases, toward the goal of designing targeted translational therapies and new diagnostic methods. Her lab is geared to using this knowledge to identify both therapy-related and disease-related factors that can be used in a synergistic way to maximize the potential of these novel approaches.
Intersted in learning more about Dr. Papa's research?
Check our our events page to link to a recording of the webinar
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It's not too late to join the WiE presentation, “I’ve Been Untitled” on Thursday, March 2nd at 9am at the annual GW Diversity Summit. A wise man once said that no one should call himself “Dr.” unless he has delivered a child. Beside the fact that the quote offers hyperbole in 'wise', it is from a male, and it is entirely gendered, the concept of being 'untitled' is an occupational hazard in academia. How we approach the use of titles impacts how we are viewed by colleagues, leadership, students - well just about everyone. This session will address "Where have you seen people untitled/unnamed women and underrepresented groups in your field? How do people respond when this happens? Can't make it? The slides will be posted on the WiE website.
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Have you ever been in a meeting and looked around the room and wondered what you’re doing there? When congratulated on an achievement have you ever said, “I was just lucky” without acknowledging all of your hard work? Do you have moments of self-doubt or a fear of being exposed as a fraud? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might be experiencing Imposter Syndrome. Join us for an hour-long workshop, “The Imposter In Your Life: Understanding Imposter Syndrome” on Wednesday, March 15th from 12:00PM- l:00PM. This is hybrid event. Join us in person or via zoom for a lively discussion.
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In celebration of women’s history month on March 21st, The SEAS Center for Women in Engineering and Development and Alumni Relations proudly presents: HERstory: Decades of GW Women in Engineering. Join us for a celebratory evening in honor of Women's History Month as we delve into the unique perspectives of women from various generations. Our panel of inspiring women will be discussing their careers, life experiences, and time at GW.
We are honored to have Deena Disraelly (Ph.D. '12) moderate this event with panelists, to date, are Karla Hoffman (MBA '71, D.Sc. '75), Menihaz Davis (BS '94), Na’a Oboshi Alexander (BS '99), and Rachelle Gardner (BA'05, MFS '08). Come prepared to walk down memory lane and Raise High our pride in Engineering at GW.
The in-person event set for Tuesday, March 21st in the Lehman Auditorium of the Science and Engineering building at 800 22 st NW will begin with registration at 6:00pm, a panel at 6:30 and a wonderful networking reception to follow .
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Mentoring: Relaunched
We promised that we would relaunch our mentoring program. We are ready and hope you are. A reminder, our program links SEAS alums with current SEAS junior undergraduate students or SEAS graduate students. We try to foster mentoring teams in in the same disciplines and offer mentor. No experience necessary as we will provide mentee training. Please sign up to be a mentor and share the opportunity with your network!
Use this link to apply to be a mentor or mentee.
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A note about our recent Engineer’s week event: The WiE Edible Car competition was a hit. Thanks to our judges: Professors Roger Kaufman and Sameer Hamdar and GW Chef Yousef Malka. Thanks to the student teams. Congratulations to the winning team- Team MOSSCar made of students Boomika Karuppaiah, Haritha Thirumaran, and Zhaoyang Chen.
REMEMBER, ALL ARE WELCOME at WiE EVENTS
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What WiE Are Reading
Hiring practices. Texas Tech, one of the largest universities in Texas, “is now reviewing its hiring procedures after one department closely scrutinized candidates over their knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion, more commonly known as DEI.” The biology department at Texas Tech University, “set in deeply conservative West Texas – asked faculty candidates in 2021 to submit statements on their commitment to DEI.” Some candidates “received negative notes if their answers were deemed insufficient, such as not knowing the difference between ‘equality’ and ‘equity.’”(CNN 2/25/2023). In case you are planning to apply in Texas, be sure you know the difference. The illustration below does a great job of explaining the difference between Equality and Equity.
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In addition to the Texas Tech DEI survey, Watermark (watermark insights, 2023) just released the Minority Male Success Initiative (MMSI), a three-year project aimed to increase the term persistence, retention, and graduation rates of minority male students across 11 colleges in North Carolina. MMSI illustrates the impact on student success and retention when institutions strategically align people, processes, and technology with the goal of improving outcomes for vulnerable student populations. Here are some of the key takeaways:
· Minority male students benefit from having a college advocate to help them overcome barriers
· Minority male students who meet with a success coach have more favorable outcomes
· There is a significant positive impact when success coaches can build rapport with their students and maintain consistency
· Institutions must invest in intentional efforts, resources, and dedicated staff to ensure that all students have the tools and support they need to succeed.
Roughly 6,000 Black students in all levels of higher education were surveyed and findings shoe they face added stresses that get in the way of graduation, according to a Lumina Foundation report, chief among those barriers, the report says, are racial discrimination and competing responsibilities like work and caregiving. Barriers to completion include the high financial cost of higher education and implicit and overt forms of racial discrimination that cause many to stop out or never enroll in the first place. The report arrives at a moment when Republican lawmakers in states like Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are scrutinizing campuses’ diversity-and-inclusion efforts, whose advocates say make nonwhite students feel more welcome.
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