A university-wide Women in Sciences and Engineering (WISE) program

Nationally, and at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), women are under-represented in many scientific and technical fields. The Women in Sciences and Engineering (WISE) Institute at Penn State represents an innovative approach to cross-disciplinary interaction among engineers, scientists, humanists, and social scientists with an interest in helping the Pennsylvania State University attain its goal of becoming a more diverse institution. The efforts undertaken by the WISE Institute are focused on academic areas where women are most under-represented. The primary purpose of the WISE Institute is to enhance recruitment and retention of female undergraduate and graduate students. The Institute also assists and supports efforts to recruit and retain women in administrative, faculty, and staff positions. The WISE Institute conducts numerous intervention programs that are aimed at several different constituencies, which include pre-college students (and parents, teachers, and counselors), undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff. This paper provides a complete description of the activities conducted by the Penn State WISE Institute. The paper also describes the results of a survey conducted by the WISE Institute to assess the effectiveness of its precollege outreach activities.