Funding from the National Science Foundation will help to transform the culture for women faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at the University of Delaware by educating faculty and administrators in best practices for recruitment and retention. The $307,936 grant was awarded through NSF's ADVANCE program, which is aimed at developing systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse workforce in these areas. The UD project team includes Pamela Cook-Ioannidis, professor of mathematical sciences. Professor Cook-Ioannidis has a secondary appointment in Chemical Engineering and is also associate dean of engineering.

The specific goals of the project are to develop a cohort of faculty to prepare and lead workshops for STEM faculty and administrators on recruitment and mentoring, implement a mentoring and educational process for tenured faculty, and increase awareness and understanding of gender issues among faculty leaders and administrators.

"There has been a lot of good news for STEM women at UD in the past few years," Cook-Ioannidis says. "The proportion of tenured/tenure track women faculty within the College of Engineering increased over the past 10 years from 5 percent of the total faculty to 15 percent, and the number of tenured female faculty in engineering more than doubled in the same timeframe."

For more detail please see: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/sep/nsf090808.html

Article created: September 10, 2008