ISSUED: 26 April 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s student branch of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Technology and Engineering Management Society has started a Women in Engineering (WIE) branch on campus. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization, and WIE is an offshoot that will focus solely on promoting women in science and engineering.
“One of our biggest objectives since we started was to help girls, especially in K through 12, to pursue STEM fields because there’s a huge gap and a problem attracting girls to these fields,” said Lisa Butler, an engineering and computer science major from Laurel, Maryland, who is president of the campus IEEE chapter.
“We do a lot of volunteer work and outreach already usually surrounding girls and volunteering with robotics and Lego league, and we helped with Seeding Your Future,” Butler said. “There are different types of grants available through IEEE nationally that help support our objective to help girls in K through 12. ”
Butler said WIE won’t be a completely separate organization from IEEE, but will work with the main chapter to achieve its goals.
— 30 —
