Society of Women Engineers (SWE) West Point attended the symposium on “Leaders in Science and
Engineering: The Women of MIT” last week hosted by the SWE student chapter at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. This symposium engaged present students and postdocs, junior
and senior faculty, alumni, and friends of MIT, and was woven around the landmark 1996 and 1999
reports of the Faculty Committees on Women in Science and their subsequent impact inside and
beyond MIT. The symposium consisted of plenary sessions of talks by outstanding women faculty. In
addition, there were sessions providing a historical and current assessment of women in science and
engineering, including the impact of the 1999 report. Two panel discussions addressed effective
practices for promoting gender equity and challenges ahead. The 1996 and 1999 reports on women
faculty in science brought attention to subtle and pervasive gender discrimination not only in the MIT
School of Science, but more widely in academic science. The reports led to an immediate recognition
that significant efforts were needed at MIT and elsewhere to correct inequities. Within MIT, this led to
introspection by all five schools with reports published in 2002 and to the introduction of many changes
to improve the climate for and status of women faculty. The impact extended across the nation as
many universities have emulated MIT’s approach.
The symposium aimed to recognize both individual and institutional leadership in the success of women
in science and engineering, with the hope that seeing the many outstanding women engineers should
encourage more women to enter the pipeline for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)
fields. The program featured some of these star speakers presenting their exciting research and giving
personal perspectives. Overall, this symposium demonstrated the significant role that MIT has played
in advancing science, engineering, and the success of its women faculty and students over the past 150
years. The cadets and SWE members who attended this symposium included CDT Erin Jankowski
(Systems Engineering), CDT Beverly Nordin (Civil Engineering), CDT Chris VanKleef (Engineering
Management), CDT Mario Corizo (Engineering Management), and CDT Calla Glavin (major not declared).
This was an excellent opportunity for SWE West Point members to engage with the SWE MIT student
chapter and also the SWE Professional members who were in attendance. The cadets gained
perspective on the issues surrounding women in engineering and how they plan to incorporate STEM
outreach efforts for SWE West Point members beginning this summer and reaching into next year’s
event planning.
Photos:
1. Group shot1 (left to right): Bev, Erin, Chris, Mario, Calla
2. Group shot 2 (left to right): same order as above
3. ESP even when away from WP for a conference - studying hard (left to right): Chris, Bev, Erin