The WISE records (11.3 linear feet and digital files (online)) reflect the changing approaches that WISE took to encourage and support women in the sciences and engineering, as well as the changing organizational structure of the program. Specific formats include correspondence, digital photographs and videos, grant applications and program proposals, oral histories, research studies and talks, publications, reports, web archives, and background material on women and sciences at the University of Michigan. Prominently represented in the collection are WISE's various programming efforts, the Women's History in Michigan Science and Engineering Oral History Project, and the Women in Engineering Office (WIE).
In 1980, the University of Michigan established the Women in Science Program as part of the Center for Continuing Education of Women (now Center for Education of Women+, or CEW+), with Dr. Barbara Sloat as the program's first director. The program has sought over the years to increase the number of women and girls who major and seek advanced degrees in mathematics, science, and technical fields, particularly via programming efforts which are open to students of any gender identity. In 1994, the program changed its name to Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) to reflect support for women in science as well as engineering. While WISE had always supported women in engineering (made apparent by many early programming endeavors), the common interpretation of "science" at the time excluded engineering. The name change was designed to bridge the gap in terminology. Further changes occurred in the early 2000s, when the College of Engineering's Women in Engineering Office (WIE)—a unit devoted to providing services and resources to support women in engineering programs—was incorporated into WISE. WIE operated as a distinct division of WISE until approximately 2009.
In its initial years, the program was funded by joint contributions from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; the College of Engineering; the Medical School; the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies; and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. In the two decades since its inception, WISE applied for and received considerable funds from outside sources while continuing to work under the auspices of CEW. Today, WISE is an independent program supported by the College of Engineering; the College of Literature, Sciences and Arts; and the Office of the Provost. The director of WISE reports to the Vice Provost for Engaged Learning.
WISE has supported undergraduate and graduate women through a variety of programs, including workshops, roundtable discussions, "tray lunches," and conferences. Prominent in the early years was the Women in Science Workshop, offered each fall for incoming women in both the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and College of Engineering who were interested in science and mathematics-related majors and careers. The workshop afforded students the opportunity to meet female scientists and obtain information about science and engineering programs at the university. WISE also participated in the Graduate Experience Program, a multi-year project funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that combined research, programmatic intervention efforts, and systematic change to increase the representation of women in physical science and engineering graduate programs at the University of Michigan.
Of particular significance is the Warner-Lambert Lecture Series, begun in 1981 with a gift of $15,000. This gift from the Warner-Lambert Foundation allowed WISE to co-sponsor, with departments across campus, lectures by visiting women scientists as well as sponsor university-wide lectures by outstanding women scientists. Faculty members across campus were invited to submit nominations for speakers, which were then reviewed by a faculty advisory committee. Well over 100 women scientists were brought to campus as a direct result of this program.
In addition to supporting internships in the sciences for undergraduate women in cooperation with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, WISE and several other university units—including the Housing Division and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs—established the Women in Science and Engineering Residence Program (WISE RP) in 1993. Originally just a pilot program known as WISE Wing, financial support provided by both the University of Michigan and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) enabled WISE RP to grow into a fully-fledged residence program. The WISE RP program is designed for first- and second-year students majoring in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, pre-health, nursing, or kinesiology. WISE RP supports WISE's mission by developing a community of learners via study groups, peer mentoring, coursework, and events. WISE has also provided counseling and advising services, as well as resource guides, for students.
WISE has also sought from early on to encourage girls and people of color in K-12 schools to take an interest in science. With the support of a Sigma Xi pre-college education grant, WISE sponsored two "Science Day on Campus" events in 1988 and brought local high school girls to campus to get career information and tours of the laboratories of female scientists. Among the other pre-college programs supported by WISE were Summerscience for Girls and high school internships. Summerscience, first held in 1989 with funding from the Young Scholars program of the National Science Foundation, brought nearly 50 girls to campus to do hands-on projects in the sciences. Additional NASA funding in the second year allowed the program to expand to 75 students. In 1992, a joint project by Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis and the Women in Science Program received federal funding from the National Institute of Health Science Education Award Program. The joint project -- "Science for Life: A Summer Program for High School Women" -- placed twenty high school women between their junior and senior years in research laboratories for a six-week period.
Other K-12 programs that WISE has offered have included the Girls in Science and Engineering (GISE) Camp, a summer camp that focused on STEM topics (e.g., chemistry, engineering, robotics, human genetics, and physics) and the Southeast Michigan Science Fair, which is sponsored by the University of Michigan and Washtenaw Community College. WISE has also been involved in the FIRST LEGO League, an international program designed to introduce pre-college students to STEM topics via a robotics competition. WISE offered a variety of K-12 summer programs in 2020, including the GISE Camp, Python Bootcamp, Girls in Music and Technology (GiMaT) summer commuter program, and Electrify Tech Camp.
WISE staff have also conducted a number of scientific research projects on campus and made themselves available to give papers and talks at local, state, and national events and conferences. The program has also been involved in international efforts encouraging girls in scientific fields, as exemplified by WISE staff members hosting the 1987 Girls and Science and Technology (GASAT) IV conference in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1979 by researchers in Northern Europe who were concerned with the participation of girls and women in scientific fields, GASAT held international conferences bringing individuals around the world together to discuss their work on issues relating to girls and science.
WISE, along with its programs and staff, has received several awards over the years, including a National Science Foundation Recognition Award for the Integration of Research and Education (1997), Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (2000), and Maria Mitchell Women in Science Award (presented to WISE's second Director, Cinda-Sue Davis, in 2000).
After receiving a grant from the Alumnae Council Birthday Greeting Committee in 2004, the Women in Science and Engineering Program, under the direction of Dr. Cinda-Sue Davis, initiated an oral history project to collect and preserve the oral histories of University of Michigan alumnae in the sciences and engineering. Interview subjects were selected based on their integrity, social consciousness, and citizenship, and not simply on their technical ability or accomplishments. Furthermore, the oral histories focus on the whole interview subject, not simply her experience in a technological field. Interview subjects spoke candidly about their hopes, fears, regrets, and triumphs in all aspects of their lives: education, career, marriage, family, and retirement. They have discussed at length how their treatment and experiences led to, sidetracked, or thwarted their attempts as scientists, engineers, or technicians. The Women's History in Michigan Science and Engineering Oral History Project completed its interviews in 2007. The project resulted in a website (which provided this description) as well as audio recordings and transcripts.
Beginning in 2011, WISE also oversaw the social media site Smartgirl.org (formerly Smartgirl.com, and also known as SmartGirl). Created in 1996 by Isabel Walcott as the website of SmartGirl Internette Inc., SmartGirl was a social media and market research website intended for, and primarily used by, teenage girls. SmartGirl was acquired by the University of Michigan in 2001 and was originally intended to be used as an educational and outreach resource of the university's Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). The IRWG transferred ownership of the site to WISE in approximately 2011 and was effectively shut down by 2015.
Directors of the Women in Science and Engineering Program
| Date |
Event |
| 1980-1984 | Barbara Sloat |
| 1984-2019 | Cinda-Sue Davis |
| 2019- | Melissa Gross |
