Report details status of women scientists and engineers

ANN ARBOR— The University of Michigan will announce the results of a survey to measure the working environment for women on the science and engineering faculty at the University at noon on Sept. 26 in the ballroom of the Michigan League, 911 North University in Ann Arbor. "Major research universities, including the U-M, CalTech and MIT, have realized that we have to improve the campus environment for women faculty in these fields if we’re going to attract and retain the brightest and best for our respective institutions," said Abigail Stewart, professor of psychology and women’s studies and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA), who directs the project. "The proportion of women in the highest faculty rank, full professor, is disappointingly low," Stewart said. U-M’s five-year program is supported by a $3.7 million ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). "Our process at U-M was distinctive in that we began with rigorous baseline research that was internally supported, even before we knew NSF was funding our proposal. Now that we’ve gathered it, we’ll be able to evaluate how much we’ve really been able to improve things with the help of the NSF award," Stewart said. At the end of the project the results of this survey will provide hard data that will allow the University to measure its progress toward increasing the number of women faculty in the science and engineering disciplines, and improving their career satisfaction. The U-M study is one of only a handful of research universities to publicly announce the results of such a study. MIT’s 1999 report, which took an unflinching look at how marginalization had frustrated the careers of many women faculty, resonated with many women scientists. One result was NSF’s ADVANCE program, which awarded nine institutional transformation grants to ensure fuller participation and advancement of women faculty in science and engineering. Both at the U-M and nationally, the number of women on the tenure track in science and engineering fields has lagged far behind gains made by women in non—science fields, nor have they achieved the levels one would expect given the number of females who have earned doctorates in these fields. Paul Courant, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, will host the event. Speakers will include U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, Pamela Raymond, professor of cell and developmental biology and senior counselor to the provost, Alice Hogan, NST project director for ADVANCE, and Stewart. Light refreshments will be served at 11:30 a.m. and a question-and-answer session will follow the presentations. The speakers will be available after the program for questions from the media. Related links:

NSF Advance >> URecord story (Feb. 2001): University joins 8 other schools to address gender inequity >>