Women in Science, Engineering, and Research (WISER)

WISER transitioned from the grant-funded WISE@OU project. WISE@OU was funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program through a Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID) Grant (Award 1107072) from 2011 to 2016. WISE@OU focused on creating a comprehensive recruitment, retention, and career development program for women and under-represented populations in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This program was active from 2011 to 2016. In Fall 2016, the program transitioned to the Research Office and became WISER (Women in Science, Engineering, and Research).

WISE@OU’s program areas focused on:

• Self-assessment – conducted a climate survey and focus groups to fully understand the campus culture and issues facing women and under-represented populations in STEM
• Reform of our recruitment effort – promoted continuous wide-sweeping training of decision makers to raise their awareness of issues and provide them with tools to combat biases and address equity
• Career development – adapted and implemented a portfolio of methods and tools to support career development of faculty in the STEM fields
• Dissemination – shared our experiences, tools, and results to benefit (i) community and small colleges in Eastern Michigan and (ii) institutions whose politics and procedures are negotiated between the administration and faculty union

WISE@OU accomplishments:

• Anti-bias training for search committees and faculty review committees
• Family-friendly information for faculty and faculty candidates
• Resources for new faculty
• High-quality cohort mentoring program
• Proactive pathway to grants program
• Diverse faculty development workshops
• Proactive nomination for internal and external awards
• Development of mid-career faculty resources and workshops
• Support and resources for department chairs and program directors
• Dissemination to other 4-year institutions and to community college colleagues
• Presentations at regional and national meetings
• Publication of findings

The WISE@OU Leadership Team included:

• Kathleen Moore (Arts and Sciences, Chemistry)
• Joi Cunningham (Academic Human Resources, previously Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives)
• Laila Guessous (Mechanical Engineering)
• Brad Roth (Physics)
• Julie Walters (Political Science)
• Jo Reger (Women & Gender Studies, Sociology)
• Previous member: Fatma Mili (Computer Science & Engineering)
• Previous member: Sanela Martic (Chemistry)

Staff support was provided by Leanne (DeVreugd) Papke, who continued to coordinate the WISER program until 2023.

The WISE@OU Internal Advisory Committee provided guidance in the early years of the grant program. Committee members included:

• Hoda Abdel-Aty-Zohdy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Ferman Chavez (Chemistry)
• Jia Li (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Gerard Madlambayan (Biological Sciences)
• Debra McGinnis (Psychology)
• Dawn Pickard (Teacher Development and Educational Studies)
• Phyllis Rooney (Philosophy)
• Mohammad Siadat (Computer Science and Engineering)
• Anna Spagnuolo (Mathematics and Statistics)

WISE@OU was also guided by an external advisory group consisting of ADVANCE leaders from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Northern Colorado/Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences.