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Authors:
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Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University
Betsy Homsher, Kettering University
JoAnn Lightly, University of Utah
Judy Raper, University of Missouri at Rolla
Judy Vance, Iowa State University
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Abstract:
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Only 8% of all engineering faculty are women. Far less women in academia are in an engineering leadership or administrative role such as department chair, associate dean, dean, provost, and chancellor or president. The Women in Engineering Leadership Institute (WELI) was one of the programs funded by the National Science Foundations ADVANCE program to help advance women in academia in engineering and science to higher leadership and administrative roles. WELI successfully held three Leadership Institutes for engineering faculty women funded by their grant. The women selected to participate were tenured and held either the rank of associate or full professor. These women were then at a place in their career where they were potential administrators. Although the NSF funding was almost gone after three Institute Conferences and a Summit, the WELI leaders determined that there were many more potential women academic leaders in engineering that could benefit from the Institute. Therefore, in partnership with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the Henry Luce Foundation, the WELI leaders were able to conduct a fourth Institute intertwined with the 2005 National SWE Conference. A major difference from the previous WELI conferences was that there was no funding available to pay for the travel, lodging, and the conference fees. Engineering Deans were solicited to sponsor the travel and SWE/WELI registration for qualified women faculty. An advantage of this requirement was that Deans showed visible support for a woman faculty member to learn more about leadership and administration.
Thirty-two women participated in the conference. Based on a pre-conference survey, a profile of these potential engineering leaders and administrators will be given. The women came to the institute to learn how to balance administration with teaching and research, how to network with women in similar positions, how to avoid excessive stress and workload, how to develop a Plan B for the end of an administrative stint, how to find leadership opportunities, and how to acquire better communication skills. The women described their three most important characteristics of good leadership and the two most important prior experiences a department chair should have. They were also asked how important it was to be a mentor or to have a mentee. Their views on these topics will be presented along with a summary of their demographics, including personality attributes. The basic demographics of these women are compared to the demographics of the participants in the previous WELI conference where the participants travel, lodging, and registration were all paid by the WELI NSF grant. In addition, the paper will show the women?s view on the essential or specific elements of the results of efforts in the 1960s and 70s on behalf of women that affected women in engineering in academia and what efforts have fallen short in
terms of present needs and issues for women academics in engineering. The participants also identified a woman that they felt embodied the term leader.
A post-conference survey showed that the women who participated were pleased with the workshop, especially the networking opportunities and the negotiation skills session. Nearly 60% of the participants were more interested in leadership positions and close to 40% were more interested in both leadership and administrative positions. All would recommend the workshop to their colleagues.
This paper should be of interest to anyone working with engineering women faculty, women in engineering programs, and in particular to engineering women in academia who are or should be thinking about taking on a leadership or administration role in engineering academia.
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