MentorNet News – July 2010 Volume 1

In This Issue Tierney in NY Times: No Gender Bias in STEM? Why Are More Latinos Going to College? GM's Hiring Tactic: College Competitions U.S. Schools to Invest in Rwanda's Development MSU Grant Targets Natives, Biomedical Science Thank You to June's New and Renewing Partners Clarkson University IBM University of Michigan Walden University Job  Opportunity IBM's Systems and Technology Group is looking for 11 regular full-time entry level engineers to join its 300mm Semiconductor Manufacturing Engineering and Test/Characterization organizations. Nine open  jobs are located in Hopewell Junction, NY, and two are located in Essex Junction, VT. If interested, please contact Deb Adams. Seeking Latinas in IT for Study Are you a Hispanic-Latina woman in the Information Technology field? If so, please take a moment to participate in a study being conducted by a Ronald E. McNair Post- Baccalaureate Achievement Scholar at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Especially sought are Hispanic-Latina women in hard fields of IT such as engineering and software development. The participant should also have had completed some of their studies in the United States. The interviews will be over the phone and will take less than an hour. The research will have a positive impact on future Hispanic women. If interested, please contact Melanie Plasencia. Want to Share? Do you want to contribute to our newsletter? If so, please send submissions to editor@mentornet.net -MentorNet Editor July 8, 2010 www.mentornet.net Tierney in NY Times: No Gender Bias in STEM? In back-to-back articles in The New York Times on June 7th and June 14th, John Tierney claims that there is no real gender bias in "math-related sciences." Instead, he suggests, all disparities between the number of women and men in these fields can be explained by biological differences in the brain and by "personal preferences." Tierney critiques legislation by the Senate funding an NSF initiative to "enhance gender equality" in academic science, defends controversial Lawrence H. Summers' remarks about biological differences between men and women, and refers to studies that find little evidence of gender discrimination, preferential differences, or differences between the brains of men and women.     "Men are more interested in working with things, while women are more interested in working with people," Tierney concludes. "I'd love to see more girls pursuing careers in science (and more women reading science columns), but I wish we'd encourage their individual aspirations instead of obsessing about group disparities." Tierney's remarks are needlessly inflammatory. The grounds of the discussion about biological differences is inherently polarizing, discriminatory, and sexist, leading to the worst kinds of biology-based prejudice.  Continue reading here. -David Porush, CEO Why Are More Latinos Going to College? The number of Latino college freshmen has increased a staggering 15% since the current economic recession began in 2008. This prodigious growth is due in part to an increase to an all-time high of 70 percent of Latinos graduating high school nationwide. According to this study by Diversity Inc., increases in overall Latino enrollment were concentrated in states with large Latino populations such as California and Arizona. Overall enrollment patterns reflect both the influences of the recession and a changing Hispanic educational paradigm. As teen unemployment reached an all-time high of 28 percent, the shortage of jobs encouraged the ongoing trend of increasing college admission. Community colleges and for-profit schools saw the largest increases in enrollment. GM's Hiring Tactic: College Competitions Thanks to a new electronic vehicle design competition, 71 new graduates across the country have landed jobs at GM. At the Challenge X and EcoCar automotive design competitions, GM cherry-picked members of top teams to form the core of its new hybrid and electric car divisions. Many of these students came not from top name engineering schools, but lesser known state schools like Mississippi State and the University of Wisconsin, where until now GM hadn't even bothered to recruit. Competitions open the door for students from across the country to make an impression on major automakers, and perhaps even earn themselves a job. GM currently has 100 job openings for electric car engineers. U.S. Schools to Invest in Rwanda's Development A new scholarly program will bring top mathematics and science students from Rwanda to 16 American colleges throughout the South. Three of the participating institutions are historically black educational institutions: Spelman College in Atlanta, Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Morehouse College in Atlanta. The students will be pursuing degrees in civil and electrical engineering, computer science, chemistry and other fields that are "critical to Rwanda's long-term, economic development plans," as stated on the Rwanda Presidential Scholars Program's official website. However, they accept participation on one condition: upon completion of their degrees, they will take their new-found knowledge back to their homeland, where they can invest it in the future of Rwanda.   Each chosen student will receive a full tuition scholarship, living expenses, travel costs, a book allowance, and a stipend, all of which are paid for by the Rwandan government. This fall, 30 new scholars from Rwanda will join the program. MSU Grant Targets Natives, Biomedical Science A Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant has been awarded to Montana State University to better integrate biomedical curriculum and will also fund "MSU programs that reach out to Native communities." In the past, MSU has used such grants to develop a summer research program for undergraduates, dedicate two laboratories to undergraduate research, overhaul and increase the rigor of courses in cell biology in neuroscience, revise the introductory biology sequence of classes, hire professors and help fund the Montana Apprenticeship Program. This program strives to increase the number of Native American and other underrepresented high schools students who want to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math career fields. Join Our List     MentorNet is a 501(C)(3) California non-profit educational organization. Our mission is to help aspiring engineering and science students and professionals at the university level - especially women and underrepresented minorities - achieve their career goals by matching them with mentors and guiding their one-on-one relationships over the Web. We are funded by fees from our campus, corporate, government laboratory and society partners and by grants from public and private foundations.