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WISTEM Center at MTSU! |
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The GRITS Collaborative is pleased to share the news that Middle
Tennessee State University, recognized for its advocacy for women in
science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) in Tennssee is now
the home for the WISTEM Center. The Tennessee Board of Regents
has approved the establishment of the Women In STEM (WISTEM) Center on
the MTSU campus. Randy Weiler of the MTSU News and Public Affairs
office released the following press release about the WISTEM Center..
The Tennessee Board of Regents has granted approval to MTSU to become the home for the new WISTEM Center.
WISTEM-Women
in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-will be located in
Room 106 of the Midgett Building starting Wednesday, July 1, said Dr.
Judith Iriarte-Gross, professor of chemistry and center director. It
will fall under the College of Basic and Applied Sciences umbrella.
"I
see WISTEM being a center for today and for the future," Iriarte-Gross
said. "If we don't have women professionals in STEM, who's going to
discover the cure for breast cancer, develop an energy-efficient
vehicle or find an answer to the nuclear-waste storage problem? We're
losing men in STEM, and it's even tougher for women. Women
professionals in STEM are providing us with clean water and air, new
materials, medical breakthroughs and other exciting innovations because
of their dedication to their science."
Dr. Diane Miller, interim
executive vice president and provost, said she welcomes yet another
center to campus. She was one of 11 MTSU administrators endorsing the
WISTEM proposal.
"We are excited by the recent approval of the
WISTEM Center at MTSU and appreciative of the time and efforts by many,
but particularly the leadership of Dr. Iriarte-Gross, whose vision for
bringing more women into the STEM disciplines will be realized through
this center," Miller said.
"The mission of the center will
advance many of the university's institutional goals and support the
Academic Master Plan by helping MTSU pursue regional recognition in
mathematics and science education," Miller added. "I commend Dr.
Iriarte-Gross and other faculty and staff members who participated in
the process that brought the WISTEM Center to MTSU. Its existence will
benefit many MTSU students plus have a significant positive impact on
STEM teacher preparation and STEM education programs across the state."
Iriarte-Gross said the center will have four primary goals:
· collaborating with the community to maximize efforts to support women in STEM;
· supporting female STEM faculty in their academic development and career growth;
· maximizing resources and opportunities for girls and women to pursue STEM education and careers; and
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supporting the education community from pre-kindergarten to college in
promoting best practices of gender equity in STEM education.
To
meet these goals, WISTEM will continue to provide its signature
programs-Expanding Your Horizons, Girls Raised in Tennessee Science,
the GRITS Collaborative, and Women In Science and Engineering-to the
campus and MTSU community, Iriarte-Gross wrote in the proposal.
The
center will work with the CBAS; the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and
Technology Center; MTSU's Learning, Teaching and Innovative Technology
Center; MTSU's Association of Faculty and Administrative Women; and
other interested and qualified organizations to support all STEM
faculty and graduate students with professional-development
opportunities.
Iriarte-Gross said she anticipates the "pulling
together of all resources between MTSU and the middle Tennessee
community to leverage what we have."
She added that she already
has heard from Dr. Chrisila Pettey, professor in computer science, who
shared information about a Women in Computer Science organization led
by associate professor Brenda Parker and how the organizations could
benefit from each other.
Iriarte-Gross said she plans to talk to
various chairs in CBAS and other departments like geosciences and
psychology to discuss "what we can do and how we can help women in
STEM."
"All too often, I hear women students say, 'I was lucky I
got a good grade' or 'I was lucky I got a good job.'" Iriarte-Gross
added. "They've got to get out of that mindset and realize they are
good at what they do, and say, 'We're not lucky. We know our stuff.'" |
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GRITS
Collaborative
East TN Forum |
On
June 15, 2009, the GRITS Collaborative, with the Northeast Tennessee
Local Section of the American Chemical Society (NETS-ACS), the
Tennessee Government Affairs Committee (TN-GAC), and the Tennessee
State Collaborative on Reforming Education (TN-SCORE) hosted the first
of the GRITS Collaborative Forums in east Tennessee. This forum
was held at the Eastman Lodge on Bays Mountain in Kingsport,
Tennessee. There were about forty people in attendance at the
forum that learned about the programs which helps to broaden the STEM
education of Tennessee young women. Dr. Tom Lane, current
president of the ACS, as well as board of education members from
northeast Tennessee K - 12 schools were delighted to hear about
programs supporting STEM education in Tennessee.
*The TN-GAC is
an active, state-wide organization having a positive influence on STEM
education within the state of Tennessee. The TN-GAC promotes the
establishment of a strong science requirement in the K-8
curriculum. This committee will also work to build broad
coalitions with professional education and STEM organizations,
scientific societies, and with the Tennessee government. TN-GAC
will build links with STEM policy makers and stakeholders in
government, education, and business. TN-GAC also supports public
outreach efforts which increase STEM literacy of all
Tennesseans. Please contact John Sanders at jsanders@eastman.com
for more information.
*TN-SCORE is an initiative to
accelerate state and local education reform efforts across
Tennessee. SCORE will pursue this goal through a three-prong
strategy that includes:
-Developing a strategic plan for K-12 education reform in Tennessee via a statewide Steering Committee,
-Launching a number of Project Teams to initiate both statewide and local education reform projects,
-Coordinating
a grassroots campaign to identify education activists across the state
and to start conversations among local community leaders about how
each community can improve its local schools.
For more information about TN-SCORE, please visit www.tennesseescore.org.
*Articles from organization literatue. |
| NGCP Program Directory |
*Summer Program List and Watchlist Features in the Program Directory
The
NGCP Program Directory allows users to search for summer programs in
their area and nationwide. The advanced search feature is especially
useful for educators, parents, and students looking for a particular
service delivery format such as an afterschool program or special
event. Another feature of the Program Directory is registered users can
create Watchlists to be notified if a particular program, programs in
their state, or programs with a keyword make changes to their entry or
register in the directory. Keep up-to-date on programs in your area
with this feature.
*Article from the June 2009 NGCP Newsletter
A
2009 resolution of the GRITS Collaborative is to have ALL 95 counties
in Tennessee represented in the NGCP Program Directory. We currently
have 14 counties represented with 35 programs in the directory.
If you are involved with, or know of a girl-serving organization in
your area that is not in the program directory, please register that
organization, or program into the directory. The program directory is a
great way for organizations and programs to collaborate and share
resources. Also,the program directory is a great way for
educators and parents to search for programs and organizations in their
area for their daughters and students who are interested in STEM.
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Thank you for staying involved in and promoting the activities of GRITS.
Cacy DeSheles
Assistant Director
Girls Raised In Tennessee Science |
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