THE PANELISTS

“Bringing — and Keeping — Women In the Fold on Campus” is scheduled from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. Tuesday (June 18).  Joining Chancellor Katehi on the panel:


• Leah H. Jamieson, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, Purdue University (a post that Katehi once held)
• Maria Klawe, president, Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, Calif.)
• Bevlee A. Watford of Virginia Tech, where she is a professor of engineering education and director of the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, as well as associate dean for Academic Affairs

The moderator is Tricia Berry, director of the Women in Engineering Program, Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin.

Katehi, who holds faculty appointments in electrical and computer engineering and women and gender studies, is an advocate not only for women in science, but for all students, with a particular interest in seeing students develop a passion for science and other STEM disciplines through the exploration of engineering. As a member of the National Academy of Engineering, she chaired a committee that issued a 2009 report titled “Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects.”

Besides membership in the national academy, she is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the National Academy of Inventors (charter fellow).

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi is scheduled to attend a national conference next week to address a critical issue facing higher education and the nation: boosting the number of female faculty and researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.


Katehi

The chancellor, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is signed up as a panelist for “Bringing — and Keeping — Women In the Fold on Campus,” during the U.S. News STEM Solutions conference. Last year’s inaugural event in Dallas drew 1,500 people, while this year’s in Austin, Texas, June 17-19, is expected to draw more than 2,000 leaders and visionaries in business, education and government.

According to the conference program, Katehi and others on the panel will look at research into what creates the “glaring gender gap” in STEM disciplines in the halls of higher academia, and discuss policies and programs that are proving to be most effective at closing the gap.

The panel description cites examples such as actively recruiting women, and transforming the traditional, macho “only the strong will survive” culture of science and engineering departments into one of developing and supporting talent.

Bringing women into the fold of STEM academia is exactly what UC Davis is doing with a grant from the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program: $3.725 million awarded last year and running for five years to increase the participation of women, especially Latinas, in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.


The chancellor is the principal investigator, and she has four principal co-investigators: Professors Adela de la Torre (Chicana/o studies), interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs; Maureen Stanton (evolution and ecology), vice provost for Academic Affairs; Raymond Rodriguez (molecular and cellular biology); and Kimberlee Shauman (sociology).

Professors Yvette Flores (Chicana/o studies) and Laura Grindstaff (sociology) are co-investigators.

“The UC Davis ADVANCE program is rooted in the premise that multiple perspectives from both gender and cultural diversity can increase UC Davis’ contributions to STEM research,” Katehi said when she received the grant.

UC Davis ADVANCE has five initiatives under way:


• Inclusive Campus Climate
• Mentorship and Networking
• Policies and Practices Review
• Social Sciences Research
• Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, or CAMPOS, for Latina STEM scholars and other female STEM scholars

CAMPOS is described as an accessible and inclusive community, for collaboration and mentorship among female STEM scholars throughout their careers. CAMPOS is located, for now, with UC Davis ADVANCE in 1100 Surge III.

“CAMPOS will catalyze the diversification of our STEM faculty by making UC Davis a sought-after destination for women seeking a supportive research community, and will allow us to rapidly build a critical mass of Latina and other under-represented women STEM scholars,” UC Davis ADVANCE declares on its website.

“This novel approach, focusing on successful research programs of individuals, represents a next, important step in the evolutionary transformation and diversification of STEM faculties.”

UC Davis ADVANCE also includes three integrated, empirical studies to help understand the barriers that impede, and specific institutional structures, cultural factors, resources and processes that facilitate the inclusion and success of women and Latinas in academic STEM careers.


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