Women in Engineering at Purdue

I'm always inspired when I attend the Society of Women Engineers National Conference.  I was at this conference last week.  I think that it was probably my 10th SWE conference.  I don't really go to the sessions, I don't go for personal or professional development.  I go because we have lots of alums and  corporate representatives that go, and networking with alums and corporate representatives is part of my job.  But I'm always inspired.  There were about 5,000 people at this year's conference, all of them excited and energetic about women in engineering.  There's 60 years of history there, and lots of stories that get told to the younger generations.

I know that I missed participation in class last week, and that at least part of class time was spent on the concept and history of women in engineering.  I admit that I know next to nothing about Purdue's Home Economics department and how it may have been a pre-cursor to the mainstream participation of women in Engineering at Purdue.  But I do know quite a bit about the history of women in the engineering school at Purdue, and given some of the readings and blog posts, I thought I'd share it with you. 

First, know this: except for its first year of operation, Purdue has never barred women from the engineering curriculum.  Could Purdue have done things differently to be more welcoming, more open, more engaging to women?  Absolutely!!  And the University still can!  But I'm proud to be an alum of an instutution that has been open to women since before the turn of the 20th century.  I'm not sure I would feel the same sort of pride, if I coud do the job I do now, if Purdue hadn't been co-ed from almost the very beginning.   I am inspired by the story of Doris (Dodie) Powers (AAE 49), who says she initially went to college in Texas, became interested in engineering, but the school wouldn't let her study it.  So she transferred to Purdue, studied engineering here, and graduated with an engineering degree.  And the Schickler sisters, the first sisters to graduate with engineering degrees.  Louise (ME 1940) started at Purdue in mechanical engineering.  Two years later, her sister Helen was accepted to go to school at Michigan State in engineering.  Two weeks before classes began, MSU recinded its offer of admission because Helen was female.  Louise talked to some people at Purdue, and Helen came here.  She graduated in 1942 with a ME degree.  From the first women engineering graduate in 1897 to 50 years later (1947), there were 57 women who earned engineering degrees.  Currently, over 9000 women have earned engineering degrees from Purdue - one of the highest counts in the country.

The rest of the history was primarily written by Jane Daniels, the former Director of the Women in Engineering Program (1979-2001).  I've added to it over the years, and while I believe it has many interesting points, the organization of the piece is a bit scattered.  My apologies. 

A History of Women Engineers at Purdue

In 1897, Martha Dicks Stevens was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at Purdue University.  It was in Civil Engineering.  There is a plaque in the Civil Engineering building commemorating this accomplishment.

The first sisters to earn engineering degrees from Purdue were Louise Schickler Rogers (ME, 1940) and Helen Schickler Lewis (ME, 1942).  The first PhD granted to a women in engineering was in 1946 in Industrial Engineering – Orpha-Mae Thomas.  Her thesis title was “A scientific basis for the design of institution kitchens.” 

To cultivate fellowship among women engineering students—the Gamma Chapter of Pi Omicron was established on the Purdue campus.  (first chapter at Syracuse, second at Cornell)  On January 11, 1947, the first official meeting of Pi Omicron took place.  Requirements for membership were 1) enrollment in an engineering curriculum, 2) standing of at least second semester sophomore, 3) grades high enough to qualify for participation in activities, and 4) membership in her technical society.  A student named Murray Hake was elected president.  Dr. Lillian Gilbreth (often considered the mother of Industrial Engineering), was a consulting engineer and a professor of management at Purdue at that time.  She was a strong supporter of the organization and spoke at a meeting celebrating its first anniversary in the East Faculty Lounge of the Purdue Memorial Union.  In her talk, Dr. Gilbreth said that discrimination against women in the field of engineering was decreasing, that women students at Purdue were being given an even chance in interviews.  Dr. Gilbreth was also the keynote speaker at a national convention of Pi Omicron delegates held in Syracuse at the end of the year.  One of the national leaders that first year was a woman named Jean Peek (ME 1947).

In 1954, 5 years after the first meeting of the national Society of Women Engineers and 2 years after that society was incorporated, Purdue’s Pi Omicron officially changed their named to the Society of Women Engineers, Purdue Student Section.  At that time there were approximately 20 members.  The first Purdue SWE president was Kathleen Fraylick.  (Purdue’s SWE section is the oldest continuously chartered SWE section in the country.  The first collegiate SWE section was at Drexel.)

In 1967 the first SWE scholarship at Purdue University was established.  Funded with donations from friends of SWE and the Purdue chapter of Mortar Board.  The annual award was established to recognize the senior (or junior) with the highest GPA.  This scholarship has been awarded every year since and is now funded by an endowment established to recognize the continuous financial support from the Zimmerman family (Robert Zimmerman, B.S.C.E. 1932 and Mary Ann Zimmerman, B.S.C.E. 1966 and M.S.C.E. 1968).  The SWE Awards Dinner was first held in the “recreation room” of Prof Violet Haas’ home.  (Prof. Haas was faculty in Electrical Engineering.)  In 1973, the first joint recognition banquet of Purdue SWE and SBE (Society of Black Engineers) was held honoring students from each organization for their academic achievement. 

In 1969, the Women in Engineering Program was started.  It was part of the Department of Freshman Engineering.  At that time, there were 47 women enrolled in engineering, which was less that 1% of the engineering population.  In 1972, the graduation rate of women engineers was less than 25%.

In 1974, Purdue SWE was the first organization to enter a cart into the Purdue Grand Prix race with an all female crew and driver.  Margo Hammel, SWE president was quoted in the student newspaper as saying, “We were talking about entering a queen candidate for the Grand Prix to prove we are not all toads.”  In 1985, SWE driver Andrea Harrison won the pole position and finished 5^th at the end of the race.  This was and has been the best finish. 

Purdue has had a significant role in the national SWE organization.  Although not the first student section, it is the oldest, continuously operating student section.  The Purdue section has won the best section in Region H more than 10 times and in 1979 won the best Student Section in the nation (it placed 3^rd in 2005 and second in 2007).  In 2008, Outstanding Student Section competition changed into earning gold, silver or bronze certificates.  Purdue SWE earned a gold in 2008, and a silver in 2009 and 2010.  In 1978, there were 996 women enrolled in engineering at Purdue University and more than 700 of them were members of the Purdue student section of SWE.  This was almost 10% of the total national membership of the organization that year.  Purdue alumnae have served as National SWE presidents, national officers, board members, regional officers, and been elected as SWE fellows.  And three Purdue Engineering alumnae have served as national president, Roberta Gleiter (1960 ChE), Ronna Robertson (1992 ChE) and Siddika Demir (MSCE 1996). 

In 1984, two engineering students, Rhasmi Khanna and Abby MacDonald founded a sorority called Phi Sigma Rho.  It is a social sorority (and now part of the Panhellenic organization) for engineering students.  Over time, the sorority spread, and now has 22 chapters at engineering schools across the country.

In 1990, Jane Daniels, the Director of WIEP, along with Suzanne Brainard of the University of Washington and Susan Staffin Metz from Stevens Institute of Technology, founded WEPAN – the Women in Engineering ProActive Network.  WEPAN is a national organization of approximately 600 members whose mission is to advocate for institutional transformation in higher education to promote the success of all women in engineering.  Beth Holloway, the current Director of WIEP has served a term as president of this organization, and the membership services part of the organization is still run from the Purdue WIEP office.

In 1997, the Purdue Women in Engineering Program was recognized with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).