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BOZEMAN -- Missing persons have been reported in several departments at Montana State University-Bozeman, and the National Science Foundation has given the university almost $900,000 to resolve the situation.
What's missing are women majoring in chemistry, earth science, physics, engineering, engineering technology and computer science.
What's being done is a massive collaboration to increase the number of girls and women who pursue science and engineering in Montana. NSF has given MSU-Bozeman $898,440 for a project called "Science for All: Opening the Door for Rural Women." MSU's project was one of nine around the nation to receive such funding under the NSF's Experimental Program for Women and Girls.
"This was of special interest to us because it targets a population that is not normally addressed -- rural schools and Indian reservations," said Lola Rogers, a program director with the NSF.
MSU's project began Jan. 1, and it's designed to increase the number of middle school and high school girls from rural schools and Indian reservations who pursue science and engineering at MSU-Bozeman, said Sara Young, project director.
"Women are seriously underrepresented in the physical sciences and in engineering," added principal investigator Adele Pittendrigh. "We hope to see more women go into those fields as majors and also to see more women interested in studying science and becoming science literate."
A recent study of MSU-Bozeman enrollment and graduation data shows that female enrollment in the physical sciences and engineering closely parallels the national averages. Eighty-five percent of the nation's engineering degrees go to men, while almost 70 percent of the students who major in physics, chemistry and computer science are male.
In the 1996 fall semester at MSU-Bozeman, the lowest percentage of women in the six science areas was found in engineering technology. There, women made up only 2.9 percent of the undergraduate student enrollment. Of the students who received their undergraduate degrees in computer science last year, none were women.
MSU-Bozeman is trying to improve those figures by collaborating with schools and tribal colleges in the Billings area, the Crow Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Great Falls and the Blackfeet Reservation, which should extend the benefits beyond Bozeman, according to organizers. The project will involve teachers, guidance counselors, mentors, on-line support, summer institutes, seminars and curriculum development.
"We were quite elated that we received the grant," Young said. "A lot of people had worked on it.... But we were probably as happy about the level of support and collaboration on campus as we were in getting the grant."
Besides the NSF grant, the project will be funded with $421,000 over three years in matching funds from MSU-Bozeman. Several departments have already said they want to continue the project after the initial NSF funding runs out in three years.
Seventeen $1,000 scholarships are available for freshman women entering chemistry, earth science, physics, engineering, engineering technology and computer science this fall. A cross-disciplinary freshman seminar on science, technology and society will also be offered to show that science is "interesting and socially valuable, that it is relevant to women's lives and that it is an enterprise where minorities can and do contribute."
Women are turned off to science and engineering careers long before college, according to faculty members who are working on MSU's project. Rogers at the NSF said boys, more than girls, elbow their way to computers and wave their hands, trying to get middle school and high school teachers to call on them. Boys often respond better to competitive environments, while girls prefer working cooperatively. Many science teachers tend to use sports and military examples instead of examples that better relate to girls.
"Those are some of the little things that make a difference," Rogers commented.
Besides Young and Pittendrigh, those at MSU-Bozeman who are working on this project are Sharon Hapner, senior research associate in the biology department; Cynthia McClure, associate professor of chemistry; and Robert Marley, Interim Associate Dean of the College of Engineering.
The National Science Foundation liked MSU's proposal because it involves teachers, guidance counselors and several schools to increase the number of girls and women in science and engineering. Here is what some of those groups will be doing in the three-year project that began Jan. 1:
Guidance counselors and teachers: Each year, fifteen teams of middle and high school teachers, as well as guidance counselors, will attend a week-long summer short course on "Montana Women in Science and Technology: Improving Participation." Participants will analyze and discuss barriers that keep women away from the sciences, explore alternative teaching techniques and curricula, and share ideas with national experts on gender and science issues. Teachers and guidance counselors will learn how to de-emphasize competitive classroom climates, use gender-neutral language and give examples of women's discoveries and participation in science. Participants will be eligible for mini-grants to apply what they learned. They will also have access to an on-line service to help them assist female students prepare for college-level course work.
Students: Middle school and high school girls will be offered such activities as summer camps, female science or computer clubs and environmental research projects. Female students who plan to study science or engineering at MSU-Bozeman will be eligible for scholarships. At MSU-Bozeman, they will be able to attend a new freshman seminar on science, technology and society and its relevance to women and minorities. Female students will be linked with more advanced students and faculty in a mentoring system to improve their confidence in science, math and engineering courses.
MSU/tribal faculty: MSU-Bozeman will host a week-long institute on gender, science and engineering to introduce college-level faculty to national research on female-friendly teaching techniques and curricula. Mini-grants will be available to those who want to apply and test what they learned. Faculty will be able to use an on-line service for mentoring and counseling. The academic deans of the participating tribal colleges will head teams of science faculty during the first year of the project. Faculty representatives from MSU-Bozeman will visit each of the three tribal colleges at least once during the project to encourage faculty to participate in the project.
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