Nonprofit Category Finalist of 2009 Leadership Award
University of Iowa Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program
Iowa City
Nominated by Jo Jones
The mission of the Women in Science and Engineering Program is to expand and improve educational and professional opportunities for women in all fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by facilitating individual, institutional, and social change.
The WISE Program provides academic support, promotes professional development, facilitates research opportunities, establishes and maintains community outreach and encourages global cooperation.
WISE has a variety of initiatives and programs that serve undergraduate and graduate students including the Peer Mentoring Program, Learning Community (LC), Learning Community Outreach Program, Tutoring Program, Ambassadors, Post Doc Initiatives, Professional Development Workshop Series, Travel Grant Program, Resource Library, Media Library and K-12 Library Project.
The WISE Ambassadors, a student organization made up of graduate and undergraduate women in STEM disciplines provide outreach to area K-12 institutions. They host on-campus programs such as WISE Badge Day for area Girl Scouts, serve as speakers at career exploration events, assist K-12 educators in their classrooms, and serve as judges for area science and engineering fairs.
WISE collaborates with other groups to serve Iowa girls. WISE co-sponsors events such as the Write Women into History Essay Contest (with the Iowa Council on the Status of Women), Sonia Kovalevsky Day (with the UI Math Department), Hawkeye Challenge Programming Contest (with the UI Computer Science Department and ACM) and other programs directly impacting K-12 students.
WISE was established in August 1994 and has worked since that time to coordinate and focus efforts of women at all levels in science, technology, engineering and math.