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About the Conference
The Association for Women in Science:
A National Conference for Women in the STEM Disciplines
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
June 23-24, 2005, Smith
College
Northampton, Massachusetts
The objectives were to
- Assess the progress made on the seven recommendations from the 1995 NSF Conference on Women in Science
- Present and discuss current data on the status of women in science & engineering
- Select the most important barriers to the success of women in their STEM careers that remain
- Make recommendations for a research agenda for the next decade.
The report will be useful for corporate managers and academic administrators, STEM researchers, faculty, graduate students, and those interested in helping women scientists and engineers achieve full potential in their careers. Speakers included Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Dr. Rita Colwell, former Director of the National Science Foundation. The president of Smith College, Carol Christ, made welcoming remarks.
Program Schedule
Day 1: June 23, 2005
- 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. On-campus housing check-in
Front foyer of Comstock-Wilder House
- 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Registration for all participants
Wright Hall Foyer
- 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Cocktails
Wright Hall terrace
- 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Dinner
Campus Center, Multi-purpose Room
- Keynote Address following dinner
Welcoming Remarks, Carol T. Christ, President, Smith College
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson
President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Chair, AAAS
Day 2: June 24, 2005
- 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Late Registration
- 9:00 a.m. Welcome and Morning Plenary
Dr. Rita Colwell
Former Director, NSF
Chair, Canon U.S. Life Sciences
- 10:15 - 10:30 a.m. Break
- 10:30 - Noon STEM Panel of corporate, foundation, and academic leaders
Dr. Sue Rosser, Panel Moderator
- 12:15 - 3:00 p.m. Break-out Discussion Sessions (working lunch)
Two tracks of break out sessions, one looking at academic policies and one looking at corporate policies, will be facilitated by STEM leaders and change makers. The purpose of the breakout discussion is to identify what further changes are needed to promote the development of universal skills for moving through a career in science and engineering. A strategy for summation and dissemination has been identified to bring all group ideas together.
- 3:00 - 3:15 p.m. Break
- 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. Wrap-Up and Final Plenary
The conference will be held in the new Campus Center.
Program Schedule
The purpose of this conference is to bring together academic and corporate leaders who are the change makers in their workplaces and other concerned people to learn about the research in the last decade detailing where progress has been made on the recommendations from the 1995 NSF conference.
This is a 24-hour conference for up to 300 regional and national change makers in academe and industry. Invited speakers will report on completed research that addresses issues for women at various career stages in the STEM disciplines.
Focal points include
1. The formulation of academic policies to facilitate movement of faculty through the academic ranks, learning from conference speakers and other participants about what "works" and what doesn't work
2. The fulfillment of national needs for skilled scientists and engineers in all sectors of the economy through the formulation of curriculum, academic opportunities and corporate policies that support women in the STEM disciplines as they pursue leadership roles, in the creation of new ventures and as well as in the corporate environment.
It is expected that the participants will return to their workplace ready to work with their colleagues to develop improvements to policies that engage and support women in their careers.
Dissemination
Each afternoon breakout group will file a report on their discussion to include recommendations for further research and a consensus for how well current policies are working.
Following the conference, a complete report will be written and disseminated to the participants, key stakeholders in industry government and academia and posted on the AWIS website with links to other organizations.
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