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Designing an Engineering Message for Non-Metropolitan Community College Females

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Conference

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Publication Date

June 26, 2016

Start Date

June 26, 2016

End Date

June 29, 2016

ISBN

978-0-692-68565-5

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Addressing Diversity Issues in Engineering Education

Tagged Division

Two Year College Division

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/p.26699

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/26699

Download Count

520

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Paper Authors

biography

Mary R. Anderson-Rowland Arizona State University

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Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University
MARY R.ANDERSON-ROWLAND is the PI of an NSF STEP grant to work with five non-metropolitan community colleges to produce more engineers, especially female and underrepresented minority engineers. She also directs an Academic Success and Professional Development program, with an emphasis on transfer students. An Associate Professor in Computing, Informatics, and Systems Design Engineering, she was the Associate Dean of Student Affairs in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU from 1993-2004. Anderson-Rowland was named a top 5% teacher in the Fulton Schools of Engineering for 2009-2010. She received WEPAN's Betty Vetter Research Award 2015, the WEPAN President’s Award 2014, WEPAN’s Engineering Educator Award 2009, ASEE Minorities Award 2006, the SHPE Educator of the Year 2005, and the National Engineering Award in 2003, the highest honor given by AAES. In 2002 she was named the Distinguished Engineering Educator by the Society of Women Engineers. She has over 190 publications primarily in the areas of recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented minority engineering and computer science students. Her awards are based on her mentoring of students, especially women and underrepresented minority students, and her research in the areas of recruitment and retention. A SWE Fellow and ASEE Fellow, she is a frequent speaker on career opportunities and diversity in engineering.

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biography

Armando A. Rodriguez Arizona State University

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Prior to joining the ASU Electrical Engineering faculty in 1990, Dr. Armando A. Rodriguez worked at MIT, IBM, AT&T Bell Laboratories and Raytheon Missile Systems. He has also consulted for Eglin Air Force Base, Boeing Defense and Space Systems, Honeywell and NASA. He has published over 200 technical papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings – over 60 with students. He has authored three engineering texts on classical controls, linear systems, and multivariable control. Dr. Rodriguez has given over 70 invited presentations - 13 plenary - at international and national forums, conferences and corporations. Since 1994, he has directed an extensive engineering mentoring-research academic success and professional development (ASAP) program that has served over 500 students. These efforts have been supported by NSF STEP, S-STEM, and CSEM grants as well as industry. Dr. Rodriguez' research interests include: control of nonlinear distributed parameter, and sampled-data systems; modeling, simulation, animation, and real-time control (MoSART) of Flexible Autonomous Machines operating in an uncertain Environment (FAME); design and control of micro-air vehicles (MAVs), control of bio-economic systems, renewable resources, and sustainable development; control of semiconductor, (hypersonic) aerospace, robotic, and low power electronic systems. Recently, he has worked closely with NASA researchers on the design of scramjet-powered hypersonic vehicles. Dr. Rodriguez’ honors include: AT&T Bell Laboratories Fellowship; Boeing A.D. Welliver Fellowship; ASU Engineering Teaching Excellence Award; IEEE International Outstanding Advisor Award; White House Presidential Excellence Award for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring; Ralf Yorque Memorial Best Paper Prize. Dr. Rodriguez has also served on various national technical committees and panels. He is currently serving on the following National Academies panels: Survivability and Lethality Analysis, Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Autonomous Systems. Dr. Rodriguez received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990. Personal Web site: http://aar.faculty.asu.edu/

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Abstract

Based on grounded theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, the authors have worked with and researched Community College (CC) students for nearly 15 years, with many of the schools being Hispanic Serving Institutions. A major goal is to be able to get engineering and computer science on the career horizon of undecided students. Over several years, surveys have been taken on CC students at five non-metropolitan schools to try to understand what they like or do not like about engineering and at the same time to identify myths and misconceptions that they have about the field. In particular, two CCs were studied and the beliefs about engineering/computer science were contrasted by school, gender, and ethnicity. In addition, the authors looked at females who were interested in engineering and computer science versus females who were not interested and found some major differences. Results are presented of a new survey of 54 non-metropolitan CC students to help determine what interests them in a presentation to consider a career in engineering and computer science. The moral here is that it is important to get to know the students you are trying to interest in engineering or computer science. One message, however friendly, does not fit all. Community colleges are not all the same. The engineering myths are still alive and well and need to be addressed. Females often have less information about engineering than males. Feedback from presentations to CC students can be helpful in guiding future efforts to interest CC students in engineering and computer science. This study was sponsored by an NSF STEP grant (#0856834).

Anderson-Rowland, M. R., & Rodriguez, A. A. (2016, June), Designing an Engineering Message for Non-Metropolitan Community College Females Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26699

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