Girls Learn Hands-On Manufacturing With $372,000 Investment
9 February 2000
Girls Learn Hands-On Manufacturing Technologies With $372,000 Investment By SME Education Foundation; Minnesota Program To Influence Choices of Math, Science, and Technical Curriculum
DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 9 -- Thanks to a grant from the Bush
Foundation, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation
will invest $372,000 for a three-year program to create the nation's first
coordinated and integrated approach to attracting girls and minorities -- the
non-traditional workforce -- into careers in manufacturing and technology.
Minnesota will be one of the first states in the country to organize a
coalition of multiple colleges and universities from different educational
systems in a coordinated technology based outreach approach.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000209/DEW001 )
The University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. and Alexandria Technical
College, Alexandria, Minn., will host the STEPS (Summer Technology and
Engineering Preview) summer program targeting 6th and 7th grade girls. The
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. will then host an Advanced STEPS
for girls in the 10th and 11th grade. Over three years each school will
receive a three-year grant totaling $112,500. The program will reach
approximately 1,400 young girls in that time.
The funding will replicate and expand on the Summer Technology and
Engineering Preview for Girls (STEPS), created by the University of Wisconsin-
Stout in 1997 with support of the SME Education Foundation. STEPS, a hands-on
intervention program, targets girls in a two-tiered approach -- first as they
enter 7th grade, and then again in the 10th and 11th grade.
The tuition-free, summer residential program accommodates 160 girls
attending classes in four, one week sessions of 40 girls each. The STEPS
program, designed to reach girls who are often discouraged from going into
science, engineering or technology, offers opportunities in math and science
before they decide which classes to take in middle and high school.
According to SME Education Foundation Director Randy Maiers, there are
myriad high quality outreach programs in the country; but none that involve
schools from different systems in a coordinated approach such as this. This
statewide, capstone program is a cooperative effort specifically designed to
attract girls and minorities into careers in manufacturing and technology.
Technical Careers Opportunities for Girls Will Be Significant
The ability of the STEPS program to introduce technical programs to girls
at a young age and serve as a prototype for future programs for women are
acknowledged by STEPS program academic partners.
"The STEPS program in Minnesota has the potential to excite girls about
the opportunities for technical careers early enough to influence their
choices of math and science courses in middle school and high school; and thus
prepare them to succeed in college engineering programs," says Susan
Showalter, Bush Foundation program consultant.
Susan Marino, director of Programs for Women at the University of
Minnesota says, "I have long believed programs designed to attract women and
minorities into technical careers need to have a long-term and coordinated
approach beginning at a young age in order to have a significant impact. I am
convinced that STEPS will provide a model of technology outreach that is
essential in keeping girls, especially during those vulnerable middle and
early high school years, on the right track."
Due to the anticipated high demand for entrance into these three programs,
registration will be done via a lottery system with girls being able to rank
the campus of their choice. Brochures and registration materials will be
available in early spring with each campus hosting STEPS programs from July to
September. To be included in the mailing for brochures and registration
materials, call the SME Education Foundation at 313-271-1500, ext. 1712.
In 1996, SME launched the Manufacturing Education Plan (MEP) in a major
effort between industry and education to transform manufacturing education to
better prepare tomorrow's practitioners to meet the accelerated technical and
business advancements of the 21st century. The program comprises three
different initiatives: college/university funding to address engineering
competency gaps in manufacturing, life-long learning, and K-12.
The SME Education Foundation's mission is to serve the manufacturing
community by providing support for the advancement of manufacturing education.
In 1999, the SME Education Foundation received 166 proposals from colleges and
universities requesting $20.7 million. Since its inception in 1979, SME's
Education Foundation has made cash grants of over $11.2 million and in-kind
gifts of more than $77.8 million to 378 different colleges and universities.
The STEPS program was made possible by a $372,000 grant from the Bush
Foundation, St. Paul, Minn., and is the largest grant received to-date by the
SME Education Foundation. Founded in 1953, the Bush Foundation is
predominantly a regional grant making foundation, with broad interests in
arts, humanities, education, health, human services, and in the development of
leadership. The Foundation has a special interest in supporting regional
programs that improve the quality and quantity of math and science programs
available to women and girls.
SME, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., is the world's leading professional
society serving the manufacturing industries. Through its publications,
expositions, professional development resources and member programs, SME
influences more than 500,000 manufacturing executives, managers and engineers.
Founded in 1932, SME has some 60,000 members in 70 countries and supports a
network of hundreds of chapters worldwide.
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers background information and news
releases can be accessed on the SME Home Page at http://www.sme.org . Information is
archived from April 1996 to present.