(114d) Female Mentoring Efforts in Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech

The students and faculty of Tennessee Technological University Department of Chemical Engineering are working side by side to develop a formal program for mentoring and retaining women in chemical engineering studies. The efforts of upperclassmen, graduate students and faculty are combined to guide freshmen and sophomores through their beginning semesters. Because female retention at Tennessee Tech over a five year period is just under 50%, a program structure was initiated by the students last year, including student directors and common interest groups as key components. Historically women enter math and science fields at a lower rate than their male counterparts, and issues affecting retention have been identified to include social isolation, confidence in performance, and concerns about life/work balance. This program offers a combination of social events, professional development and tutoring aimed at the needs of incoming women engineers. The program structure is designed to address these issues. The support and confidence gained from the common interest groups help women succeed in early academic challenges such as math coursework or inter-gender teams, while helping students build a network of professional relations and friendships. This program structure could easily be translated to aide other minority engineers where retention is an issue.