April 2003 News Release
For Release: April 30, 2003
Contact: Carol Muller
Founder and CEO, MentorNet
408/924-4070
cbmuller@mentornet.net
AT&T FOUNDATION AWARDS MAJOR GRANT TO MENTORNET
(San Jose, CA) – MentorNet, the e-mentoring network for women in engineering and science, has received a $100,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation. The funding is the Foundation's fifth major grant to MentorNet for the nonprofit's successful Internet-based programs that pair women undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and science with industry professionals for online mentoring relationships.
MentorNet's mission is to further women's progress in scientific and technical fields through a dynamic, technology-supported mentoring program and to advance women and society by developing a diversified, expanded and talented workforce. Its vision is three-fold: to establish excellence in large-scale e-mentoring, to create the e-community of choice for women in engineering and science through online mentoring and networking, and to leverage that community for positive social change.
" In this economic climate, the AT&T Foundation is being more judicious than ever in its allocations. We're supporting programs that make a difference today and help to shape the future," says Marilyn Reznick, Vice President of Education Programs. "We believe that MentorNet’s use of the internet and related technologies to transform society and the workplace is inspired and it's working."
MentorNet was founded in 1997, and its staying power through the recent difficult dotcom years is due in part to its ability to leverage technology to build large-scale impact for its programs. Since 1998, nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate women studying engineering and related sciences at more than 100 colleges and universities across the U.S. and in several other nations have been matched in structured, one-on-one, email-based mentoring relationships with male and female scientific and technical professionals working in industry and government. In 2001, MentorNet was recognized with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
"In the current economy, we're trying to be agile and use technology well to achieve our mission and expand our offerings," says Carol B. Muller, Ph.D., MentorNet founder and CEO.
The centralized infrastructure of MentorNet serves a growing number of colleges and universities, corporations, professional societies, and government labs and agencies, and their respective students, employees, and members, all collaborating to advance women in engineering and related sciences through mentoring. These organizations provide financial support for MentorNet operations, and they help to recruit prospective participants.
For more information on the AT&T Foundation, visit www.att.com/foundation. For more information on MentorNet, including profiles of successful mentor-student pairings and MentorNet's upcoming Partners Workshop in June, visit www.MentorNet.net .
ABOUT MENTORNET: www.MentorNet.net
The first program of its kind in the nation, MentorNet
provides a framework for mentors and students to pursue a mentoring
relationship via email, and it offers online training and support for mentors and students. Because MentorNet uses email and other electronic technologies, the program can link many more students and mentors than traditional mentoring programs that rely on face-to-face meetings.
MentorNet, headquartered at San José State University in San José, California, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization working to further women’s progress in scientific and technical fields through the use of a dynamic, technology-supported mentoring program. MentorNet aims to advance women and society, and enhance engineering and related sciences, by promoting a diversified, expanded and talented workforce. In partnership with colleges and universities, corporations, government labs and agencies and professional societies, MentorNet is international in scope, serving students from all over the world. Major funding is provided by Alcoa Foundation, AT&T Foundation, IBM Corporation, Intel Foundation, National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.