WEPAN Newsletter August 2023

Registration for Fall WEPAN Program Days Opens September 5th

Mark your calendars! Registration for the WEPAN Women in Engineering Program Day and Women of Color Summit opens Tuesday, September 5th.

Started in 2021, the WIEP and WOCS are manifestations of WEPAN’s commitment to support practitioners of Women in Engineering (WIE) and synonymous programs (WiSE, MEP, etc.) and prioritizing Women of Color in engineering and STEM more broadly. For 2023, we are applying lessons learned to create a more engaged experience while continuing to share adaptable resources and knowledge.

The Women in Engineering Program Day (WIEP) pays homage to WEPAN’s origins as an organization founded by Women in Engineering Program practitioners. Our third annual WIEP builds on the inaugural theme "calling us to remember our roots" and convenes practitioners and other stakeholders in the advancement of women in engineering to network, share resources, and discuss promising practices for supporting women in engineering.

The Women of Color Summit (WOCS)recognizes that, while critical to STEM fields, Women of Color are often underserved, under-resourced, and undervalued in their respective fields. The WOCS continues to raise awareness of both the common and the unique experiences of Women of Color as they navigate STEM careers while emphasizing the need to disaggregate WoC identifies in order to develop effective practices. The WOCS brings together Women of Color in STEM with individuals and organizations who authentically support WoC in thriving and advancing in their chosen fields.

Events

News

ACCESS+ Offers a Free DEI Self-Assessment for Professional Societies

The Amplifying the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS+) is excited to offer the Equity Environmental Scanning Tool (EEST) for free under a Creative Commons license. The EEST is a comprehensive DEI self-assessment tool. In addition to assisting professional societies in discerning both strengths and areas for attention, it also centralizes data and provides direction for actionable changes.

“We hope this self-assessment tool will help professional societies with their organizational DEI change work as they determine their areas of growth and strength,” says Dr. Ershela Sims, PI of ACCESS+ and Executive Director of WEPAN.

The EEST is comprised of three sections. The first section is organized according to twelve functional areas that are typical of society operation, such as membership and publishing. The second section asks for information on a series of DEI performance measurement questions for each of the twelve areas. The third section consists of open-ended questions to identify society DEI successes and challenges.

Read the press release and download the EEST at at: https://accessplusstem.com/products/

WEPAN Awards Open October 2nd

Save the date! The WEPAN Awards nomination form will open on Monday, October 2, 2023.

Creating change can be difficult, and the efforts of those who work to increase participation, retention, and success of women and other underrepresented groups in engineering can often go unnoticed and unappreciated. The WEPAN Awards are designed to recognize and thank honorees for their contributions to engineering and equity work in academia, industry, and the wider community.

Read the press release announcing last year's award winners.

Collecting Feedback for a Book Chapter about WEPAN and WiE Program

Four past WEPAN leaders (Susan Metz, Jane Daniels, and Carol Muller, and Beth Holloway) have been asked to write a chapter about Women in Engineering Programs and WEPAN.  This chapter will be included in a book about women in academic computer science and engineering, which fellow WEPAN friend Jenna Carpenter is editing.

Would you help us out by answering a few questions in the below Google Form?

1. What first interested you in joining WEPAN?
2. What influence has WEPAN had on you and your work (programs, professional development, leadership development, etc.) ?
3. If you were to read a chapter about WEPAN and Women in Engineering Programs, what would you most like to see included?

https://forms.gle/SGoa6S4ZCZEUat5C8

2024 SciComm Identities Project Fellowship

Join the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and the URI Science & Story Lab for a year-long fellowship to develop your voice and skills as a science communicator through a variety of mediums, including podcasting! SCIP is designed to test a novel science communication training curriculum based in intercultural communication and culturally relevant pedagogy.

Pre-tenure faculty from underrepresented ethnic and racial backgrounds at U.S. academic institutions, who study issues related to water and climate change are invited to apply. Applications are encouraged from varied disciplines in social and natural sciences and engineering. Fellows receive a stipend of $5,000 for their commitment, split in two payments after the two required in-person workshops.

Apply by September 18, 2023. The 2024 Fellowship runs January-December, 2024. Read more and apply at https://scicommidentities.org/fellowship/‍

Fluid Power Clubs Offer Opportunities for Hands-On Learning

NFPA provides financial support and other resources to student organizations formed on college campuses. Eligible clubs apply to receive a stipend of up to $2000 each year to engage in fluid power activities. NFPA sponsored Fluid Power Clubs and other engineering clubs undertaking fluid power projects have access to guest speakers and mentors from the fluid power industry as well as recruitment and networking opportunities with industry members.

This school year, there were twenty fluid power clubs at universities around the country. Club members often participate in the NFPA Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, act as ambassadors for the fluid power industry on campus and engage in projects that build their knowledge of fluid power applications. For example, the Milwaukee School of Engineering Fluid Power Club built an excavator arm machine!

If you work for a university that would be interested in forming a Fluid Power Club or undertaking fluid power projects, please reach out to Kyla Olson at kolson@nfpa.com.

The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is a trade association focused on strengthening the hydraulics and pneumatics industry. With over 300 fluid power manufacturers, distributors and suppliers in its membership, NFPA works to advance fluid power education, technology and the industry as a whole.‍

WEPAN Listserv

Do you have something to tell the WEPAN community? Remember that subscription to the WEPAN-L listserv is a member benefit! Share announcements, post publication opportunities, and collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations on special projects.

To subscribe to the WEPAN-L listserv, visit: lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/wepan-l

Resources

Publications, reports, or communications relevant to women in engineering and STEM equity. All resources listed below are available in the ARC Network online resource library. If you need help accessing the library, please contact ARC Librarian Bethany Farmer at bethany@wepan.org.  

• "Building an “Old Girls’ Network” in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics?" E. Winterrowd, J. Mihalick, T. Brace et al.

"Over the last decade the University of Wisconsin (UW) System has repeatedly faced budget shortfalls. Reductions in state funding led to increased course loads, class sizes, and turnover of administrators and faculty, producing chronic low morale (e.g., Read 2016). Amidst this turmoil, senior women scientists from campuses across the UW System met annually to offer support, promote retention and achievement of individual members, and build a network of women who could enact systemic change on their individual campuses. The chapter describes the history and components of the 11-campus program, provides examples of the participants’ resiliency and resourcefulness, and identifies ways in which the women’s senior status and disciplinary skills led to effective change."

ARC Network

Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.‍

ERW Webinar: Cultivating Equity in STEM through Inclusive Language

Join the ARC Network on Thursday, September 14 at 3pm ET for a webinar on "Cultivating Equity in STEM Through Inclusive Language."

The ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network convened scholars from multiple disciplines for a two-day workshop to prioritize under-studied research questions under the general theme of Problematic STEM Jargon. This webinar features a panel of workshop participants to discuss themes from the workshop and approaches to moving from research to action. We are excited to welcome experts Leah Ceccarelli, El Lower, and Desiree Forsyth in a discussion moderated by ARC Network Project Director Virginia Rhodes.

Register for the webinar at: bit.ly/ERWJargon

The report is available at: https://www.equityinstem.org/blog/cultivating-equity-in-stem-through-inclusive-language

Institutional WEPAN Membership

Want to encourage your institution to deepen its commitment to equity and excellence?

Consider becoming a 30 for 30 Institutional Champion Member. At this membership level, institutions have unlimited member representatives who get to dive into critical diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through custom workshops. These members also get the opportunity to strengthen their inclusive leadership capacity as part of the Equity and Excellence Council. Additional 30 for 30 Institutional Champion member benefits include:

• Professional Development
• Decades of resources in the WEPAN Knowledge Center
• Professional development webinars, including one featuring an invited speaker from your institution
• Free and discounted workshops, including one customized for your institution
• Free and discounted access to WEPAN’s Program Days
• Three annual convening registrations
• Communication & Networking
• WEPAN-L listserv
• Slack
• WEPAN member directory
• Social media spotlights of your institution
• Workforce
• Free and discounted job postings for your institution in WEPAN’s Career Center

For more information on how to become a 30 for 30 Institutional Member, please email membership@wepan.org.

Get Involved

Committees

We are looking for visionary members to join our committees and influence programming and member experiences. If you are interested in being a member of a WEPAN committee, please complete this survey: https://forms.gle/ZQyijAGNtPYYtNTV9

Slack Channel

Please join us on Slack to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection. Join our Slack community today!

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