Thanks to the generous support of the Mary Ann Ahrens–Iowa Giving Circle, AAUW is funding a record 12 Campus Action Project (CAP) teams in the 2009–10 academic year.
CAP grants provide up to $5,000 in funding for each of the 12 teams CAP teams, which are made up of students and faculty at colleges and universities nationwide. This year’s projects will address some of the barriers faced by girls and women entering and staying in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Although women and girls have made significant progress in these fields, they are still underrepresented in certain areas, and barriers to their full participation remain. AAUW’s upcoming 2010 research report, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, will highlight recent research on women and girls in these fields in three areas: middle and high school, college and university, and the workplace.
This year’s CAP teams will be planning and carrying out projects to help overcome existing barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Projects include
- recruiting nontraditional students to study engineering,
- producing a film for high school and college students about women professionals working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields,
- tiered mentoring between professionals working in these fields and college students and between college students and middle school girls,
- monthly roundtables and networking opportunities for women students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields,
- workshops for engineering technology students to learn about networking and preparing for the workplace, including tours of local engineering facilities.
AAUW will also fund one member of each CAP team to attend the 2010 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in June to present on their team’s project. (Early-bird registration for the conference begins February 15.)
Visit the AAUW website to learn more about CAP and to read about the inspiring CAP teams. Be sure to visit the CAP webpage throughout the spring to track each team’s progress and, in June, to read about their project outcomes.
