Conference focuses on science, leadership

INDIANAPOLIS - This weekend, a group of 12 University students and two staff members participated in the third annual Women in Science and Engineering "Strategies for Success" student leadership conference held at the joint Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus.

The Committee for Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium composed of the Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago, organized the conference, which was co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the 15 campuses of the CIC.

Director of the University of Michigan's WISE program Cinda Davis said the conference provided an opportunity for participants to form lasting networks with their peers in science and engineering disciplines.

"We hope students will get a chance to meet women in science and engineering from other schools, as well as hear faculty and learn strategies for succeeding in science and engineering," she said.

About 200 students, from undergraduates to post-doctoral research fellows, participated in activities including lectures and presentations, workshops, small group discussions and campus and lab tours. Among the speakers at the conference were Catherine Didion, executive director of the Association for Women in Science, associate director of the CIC Jean Girves and Karen Klomparens, dean of the engineering graduate school at Michigan State University.

Topics presented included the importance of mentorship, conflict resolution in academic and professional settings, the power of leadership and developing individual leadership styles.

In a presentation welcoming students and staff to the conference, Girves highlighted the significance of the CIC and WISE initiative.

"Fourteen percent of all the Ph.D's in science and engineering earned by women in the nation are from the 15 campuses of the CIC," she said.

Students were offered a variety of workshops and tours and could select to participate in two of the activities. Workshops included "Negotiating Your First Position", "Presenting Papers and Posters" and "Success Strategies For Applying to Graduate School." LSA sophomore Sarah Niemic said the most beneficial aspect of the conference was the workshop she attended.

"I really liked the 'Interviewing and Applying for a Job in Industry' presentation," she said. "There was a Procter and Gamble representative there who is in charge of reading 10,000 resumes a year, and it was really helpful to hear his tips."

Jean Moran, a post-doctoral research associate at the University Medical Center, said she also gained useful information at the conference.

"I thought the message of involvement in mentorship was very important," she said.

But some participants were critical about aspects of the conference.

LSA sophomore Ijeoma Nnodim said she felt the organizers did not include enough events for the undergraduate contingent at the conference.

"The way the conference was structured, it seemed like (graduates and post-doctoral fellows) were foremost on their minds," she said.

11-01-99