SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 60)

heads, to be at the same peer level with the faculty in their departments. Finally, you do not want a faculty member to have to sacrifice the opportunity for advancement to full professor when asked to move into the department-head position. SWE: What have been the challenges in recruiting women faculty? SC: We have really struggled with that here, and I have to admit that we have not been as successful as I would have liked. Part of the reason is that we have had only a few faculty searches in the last three years. However, the other, larger issue is one of changing a traditional culture. When I became dean, I underestimated how much resistance I would encounter in searches. As I mentioned, we know that more active strategies have to be used to locate women — there are not large pools of available women candidates in engineering. The biggest problem — and most of this is covert rather than overt — is overcoming issues associated with NMSU is in the top 10 U.S. colleges for granting engineering degrees to Hispanics. faculty who say, “Why should I take the extra effort to look for women?” Of course, deans everywhere deal with this. So we are trying to take a longer-term look at hiring and to get the search committees to work closely with the ADVANCE program to help them locate and recruit candidates. We have also codified this issue into our college strategic plan in setting a goal of increasing the gender diversity of our faculty to at least be similar to that of our peers. SWE: Now I am going to change the subject a little because I know you were able to attend the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Colloquium on Empowering Women in Engineering and Technology, held in Tunisia in June 2007. Will you share some of your observations of the event? SC: It was the first time I had been at an engineering conference where the majority of attendees were women, so it was a real eye opener for me. I did not realize just how the gender issue in engineering was such a global issue. It was also really surprising to me that many of the Middle Eastern countries actually had some of the higher participation rates of women in the engineering labor force — higher than that of the United States or many of the European countries. I was surprised that Germany has such a low rate. It was also interesting to me that the issues I mentioned before, about the engineering profession’s needing to do a better job of telling prospective students about how engineering makes the world a better place are not just confined to the United States, but that this is a global issue, too. I DARREN PHILLIPS, NMSU COMMUNICATIONS Hispanic Heritage Month In 1968, the U.S. Congress adopted a resolution authorizing President Lyndon B. Johnson to declare the first National Hispanic Awareness Week. The resolution called for an annual proclamation by the president of the United States to designate the week that includes Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 as National Hispanic Awareness Week. The date coincides with the anniversaries of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. And, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively. In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford asked schools and human rights organizations to become more involved in recognizing the week. President Ronald Reagan furthered the cause in 1988 by expanding the week into a month-long observance, designated as Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The time period includes Oct. 12, celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States and as El Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in Latin American countries. Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Hispanics to the United States. Educators across the country have heeded the call to not only pay tribute to Hispanic culture and heritage but also to teach the importance of and appreciation for ethnic diversity through special programs, events, exhibits, learning activities, and Web sites. The U.S. Census Bureau defines as Hispanic people in the United States, of any race, who trace their origins to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Spanishspeaking countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. According to the bureau, there are more than 45.5 million Hispanics in the United States. Hispanics constitute about 15 percent of the U.S. population, making them the nation’s largest ethnic minority. For a fascinating look into Hispanic heritage, explore the abundance of Web sites dedicated to Hispanic issues. Visit the non-profit Excelencia in Education, at www.edexcelencia.org, as a starting point. 60 SWE FALL 2008 http://www.edexcelencia.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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