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WiE Newsletter - March 2022 - ISSUE 28
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Front and Center News from the DirectorWelcome to March – it is coming in a bit like a timid lion here in DC, that’s for sure. Here in DC the temperatures are vassilating between almost freezing and low 60s! But, we have had many a surpise snow fall in March, so keep your gloves handy.
I was hoping to be able to share the outcome of our edible car contest, but alas we had to cancel it. Just too many things to do for our students and too little time. But,we promise you we will be back next year for e-week! Thanks to those who had agreed to judge (Professors Kaufman and Roddis, and Soupergirl Chef Stephanie).
We did host our “meet Our Faculty” webinar on February 3 with a very interesting and timely presentation by Professor Leila Farhadi. Professor Farhadi took us through her work on how data is gathered on water and energy cycles and how these relate to climate and climate change. The challenge – her challenge – is to create models that reflect the impacts shown by the data. If you missed it and want to learn more you can watch the recording here. We are happy to have it posted on our website for those of you who missed her presentation.
I've been saving our most exciting news for last. WiE is celebrating our 3rd anniversary!!! We are ready to celebrate. Please note our two very special events scheduled for April. I am very excited to say we are hosting a fireside conversation with Dr, Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College, on April 6 and on April 5th we will be hosting a very special networking event for our graduate students and our alumni. Register for both below!
With best wishes for a safe, healthy and inspiring Spring!
Dr. Shelly Heller
WiE Center Director
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RSVP - WiE is 3! A Conversation with Harvey Mudd College President, Dr. Maria Klawe.
Wednesday, April 6th 5-7pm. This event is hybrid. Registrants will have the option to attend in person or virtually.
SEAS Center for Women in Engineering is 3! To celebrate our 3rd anniversary two current SEAS students will interview Harvey Mudd College president, Dr. Maria Klawe with an audience Q & A. Cupcake reception immediately to follow.
About Dr. Maria Klawe
Dr. Klawe became Harvey Mudd College’s fifth president in 2006. A renowned computer scientist and scholar, she is the first woman to lead the college. Klawe is a North American expert on diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; gender and gaming; utilizing lessons from her own career in STEM industry and education. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, she was ranked 17th on Fortune’s 2014 list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Klawe is on the boards of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Alliance for Southern California Innovation and the nonprofits Math for America, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Parity.org and EdReports.org. She was previously dean of engineering and professor of computer science at Princeton University and dean of science, vice president of student and academic services, and head of the computer science department at the University of British Columbia. Klawe spent eight years with IBM Research in California and two years at the University of Toronto. She received a PhD and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Alberta.
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SEAS the Opportunity: Alumni Panel & Speed Networking Event for Graduate Students
This event is for SEAS Graduate Students.
Calling all graduate students and alumni for a networking event on Tuesday, April 5. This in-person event will feature a panel of local alumni discussing the ins, outs and how-to of networking. The panel will be followed with a Speed-networking session giving our grad students and alumni a chance to connect. So mark your calendars, spread the word, be sure to attend!
Refreshments and a special gift will be provided.
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Introducing EMSE Professor Ekundayo Shittu...
As promised, we have begun a new feature – a conversation between one of our students and one of our faculty. This month graduating senior, CS major, and WiE Board member Alyssa Ilaria
Alyssa Ilaria interviewed EMSE Professor Ekundayo Shittu. Here is a teaser from the interview:
Alyssa: Some feel that being able to focus on research is a luxury - how much of that is true for you and how much is not? (How do you manage to do all you do?)
Professor Shittu: I don't think I like the connotation of the word luxury. I would say that the ability to do research is a privilege. Why do I think that? I think that people who say research and all the time spent is a luxury are missing the point. The point is this -- when you do research with the exclusion of teaching, there is a problem. When you view research as a way of reinforcing teaching and teaching as a reinforcement for research, then you will not see that exclusion.
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What WiE Are Reading
A recent book (November 2021) by Eugene Parker
Becoming a Diversity Leader on Campus
Navigating Identity and Situational Pressures has been my focused reading for the last few weeks. Parker has compiled essays from a wide variety of scholars and practitioners as he addresses the realities, shifting sands and future for those of us who are champions on campus for diversity at all levels. In his chapter, Parker defines the meaning(s) of diversity at a college or university and how it is different from other contexts. “Diversity often represents structural or compositional diversity, i.e., the numbers or counting of diverse individuals and populations. Others asserted diversity as the distribution of differences among the members of a unit with respect to a common attribute, X, such as tenure, ethnicity, conscientiousness, task attitude, or pay”. Other scholars have contended that diversity characterizes the social differences and differentiations of individuals and populations, such as education, wealth, and identity. Diversity has also been associated with multiculturalism, college access, and recruitment. Diversity is associated with campus climate, particularly the campus racial climate. Some higher education scholars contend diversity in higher education institutions' racial environment, including educational outcomes, institutional programs, and practices promote or impede diversity equity and inclusion. While we have furthered our understanding of diversity in higher education through research and best practices, these varying conceptions of diversity have exacerbated how we have attended to the issue. However, taken together, these different notions of diversity provide an overview of how diversity is conceived at colleges and universities and grounds the perspectives in this book.” The full text is available online from our GW library and worth your time.
Just when you might have thought that science is neutral, Inside Higher Ed (January 4 and Proceedings of the National Academies) had a report about the types of research projects typically focused on Black, Asian and Latinx scientists. The authors question whether science is truly a meritocracy – a challenge that has been noted as far back as the challenge of the advancement for women. They note: “If science really was a meritocracy, Thelma Monroe-White said, “there would not be a relationship between race and gender, research topic and impact. That there is one demonstrates that advances in scientific knowledge are shaped by socially constructed, non-meritocratic factors." Their study, which was based on articles found in the, Web of Science between 2007 and 2019, found that “Compared to the general U.S. population, the researchers found that white and Asian populations are overrepresented among first authors over all, while Black and Latinx populations are underrepresented.”
While we often note that women are doing the heavy lifting about child care, a report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research says, “about 1.1 million of the roughly 3.8 million children being raised by students, are raised by single fathers, who are often overlooked and face even longer odds of graduating. Among single, “Black and Latino fathers, the dropout rate is about 70% who leave college without degrees, compared with 48% of student mothers.” There’s “been little attention paid to the dismal graduation rates of student fathers – despite alarm bells over the huge decline in the number of men overall who are attending and graduating from college.” Enrollment “has dropped nearly twice as much for men as for women since the start of the pandemic, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, and women now outnumber men in higher education by 59 to 41%.
Another reason we need more women college presidents: Inside Higher Ed reports that “female senior faculty and top administrators earn more at institutions with female presidents and provosts than at institutions where men are in charge, a new analysis from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources shows.” Nearly “one-third – 32 percent – of colleges and universities have female presidents, according to CUPA-HR data.” For “every dollar male presidents earn, female presidents earn $0.91.” Forty-five percent “of senior officers at female-led institutions are women, compared with 42% at male-led institutions.” Six in 10 division heads “-- which includes roles like bursar, chief campus bookstore administrator and chief student housing administrator – at female-led institutions are women, compared with 55% at male-led institutions.” About 63% “of administrators...at female-led institutions are women, while only 61% of administrators at male-led institutions are women
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If Then She Can Exhibit
#IfThenSheCan is a month-long exhibit taking place in and around the National Mall. Sponsored by the Smithsonian, the exhibit turns Women's History Month 180 degree to Women's Future Month with information about women and girls in STEM. There are 120 3-d printed models of women from all walks of STEM. There is something for everyone and while the exhibit is here only for the month of March, luckily you do not have to be in DC to check it out. If you want to see the virtual exhibit, click here.
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Check this out...
The Center usually does not promote purchases, but this one is too much fun to miss. Looking for a solitaire game? Check out this deck of cards, especially you CS majors! The Notable Women in Tech created a deck of cards available here The cards and posters are free
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