Women's Caucus
Scientific & Environmental Fields: Identity and Access

Due to the small number of women faculty at ESF through the mid-90s, and the higher mentoring load born by those faculty, a 1-credit graduate seminar (FOR797) and integrated speaker series, both entitled Women in Scientific Professions, launched in Spring 1999.  An undergraduate section following in 2023.  The content's breadth and depth have adapted with changes to campus demographics, new contributions to the body of research around underrespresentation has grown, and with the input of every cohort of participants, including the shift from a departmental seminar to one offered campus-wide int 2026.

The seminar continues to provide a formal group mentoring experience to enrolled students, through discussions of issues faced by those underrepresented in a variety of scientific and environmental professions, such as mentoring and productivity.  The WiSE Professions Speaker Series events have become less frequent, and are scheduled in lieu of some course sessions.  Whenever possible, enrolled students met with WiSE Professions speakers for private Q&A about career paths and personal experience with the topics included in class.  

Students also meet occasionally with WiSE Professions or selected other speakers, to hear first hand about a variety or work environments over time.  For this reason, we try to bring speakers from a variety of employer types, such as academic, NGO, state agencies, and industry. Previous campus wide-seminars have included: Dr. Donna Perison, International Paper, Jackson, MS "Meeting the Challenge of Change"; Ellen Ketterson, Indiana University, "Phenotypic Engineering: Using Hormones to Explore Adaptation and Constraint"; Dr. Shirley Malcom, AAAS, "Bringing Science to People and People to Science: New Faces --New Places"; and Sandra Brown, Winrock International, Corvallis, OR, "Kyoto, forests and Climate Change."

The course was listed as an exemplary teaching resource by Engineering Pathway and Content Matters, a collection of syllabi that "demonstrate how to combine diversity awareness with science and technology topics and content" previously compiled by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL).

A particularly innovative aspect of this class is its cross-departmental origins in the team of Robin Hoffman (retired, 2022; Landscape Architecture), Ruth Yanai (Forest and Natural Resources Management) and Therese Donovan (formerly of the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, currently Assistant Unit Leader, USGS Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Research Associate Professor, University of Vermont).  Its persistent interdisplinary mix let to shifting from FOR to ESF.  The current instructors are grateful for their groundwork, and for their notes, libraries, continued support, and their trust in us. We also benefit from cross-departmental support in terms of suggesting and sponsoring speakers.

The course evolves annually in response to "what topics should we add or combine?" and "which readings were the most useful?"

The speaker series stands alone, as anyone can attend any lecture without having listened to any other or without participation in the seminar class. However, the seminar class helps with some behind the scenes planning, and in turn, receives invaluable mentoring from each speaker.

We are always looking for good speakers, and share suggestions with other series coordinators, departments and student organizations. We also share the speakers themselves, by scheduling time for them meet with other students and faculty during their visits to campus. Please send speaker suggestions (name, affiliation, field of expertise, why she would be a good speaker, suggested cosponsors) to Heather Engelman, [email protected].