2012 Women Leaders Conference

1. Launching Tomorrow's Leaders:
Women of STEM
Dr. France Córdova

2. National Defense Education Act
Title

3. “…to ensure the long-term
prosperity of our Nation, we must
renew our collective commitment to
excellence in education and the
development of scientific talent. The
Nation needs ‘STEM innovators’…”

6. Changing Demographics
Projected Population Aged 65 and Over for the United States: 2010 to 2050
100 Millions 88.5 M
90
80
70
60
50
40
40.2 M
30
20
10
0
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008

7. Global Competition on the Rise
Bachelor's degrees awarded STEM degrees by percent
in 2008 40
800000 30
600000
20
400000
200000 10
0 0
China U.S. China U.S.

8. America COMPETES Act
Public Law 110–69
110th Congress
An Act
To invest in innovation through research and development, and to improve the
competitiveness of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America COMPETES Act’’ or the ‘‘America Creating Opportunities to
Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY; GOVERNMENT- WIDE SCIENCE
Sec. 1001. National Science and Technology Summit. Sec. 1002. Study on barriers to innovation.

10. Program Outcomes for Purdue’s Engineer of 2020
Engr Foundational Skills Professional Skills Emerging Skills
A1. Engineering Fundamentals B1. Communication Skills C1. Leadership
A2. Analytical Skills B2. Teamwork Skills C2. Global Engineering Skills
A3. Experimental Skills B3. Prof/Ethical Responsibility C3. Innovation
A4. Modern Engineering Tools B4. Contemporary Issues C4. Entrepreneurship
A5. Design Skills B5. Life-long Learning
A6. Impact of Engineering Solutions
The Three Pillars of the Purdue Engineering Undergraduate Education

13. Key Findings for Why Women Leave
• Nearly half the women left the
engineering field because of:
• Working conditions
• Too much travel
• Lack of advancement
• Lower salary.
• One-in-three women left because
they did not like the workplace
climate, their boss or the culture

15. Key Factors for Selecting Engineering:
1. Work that is enjoyable
2. Offers good working environment
3. Makes a difference
4. Provides a good income
5. Offers flexibility

16. Purdue College of Engineering
• Increased enrollment of first-year
women by 30%
– Highest number of 1st-yr women
– Highest level women engineering
undergraduates in Purdue history

17. Ideas-to-Innovation Learning Lab

19. Success through
Learning Communities
• 25% of entering class is
involved in 65 programs
• Retention rate nearly 5%
higher than for non-
participants

21. • Purdue EPICS has become an international model
• Now operates at 20 universities, and 50 high schools
with 23 international affiliates

25. C-olombia
I-ndonesia
V-ietnam
E-gypt
T-urkey
S-outh Africa

28. Thank you!
Launching Tomorrow's Leaders:
Women of STEM