The LSU Office of Diversity and African American Cultural Center are introducing a new initiative this semester to provide support and unity to minority women in STEM fields.
The STEM Women of Color Initiative is focused on aiding the transition between being a student and a professional as a minority woman.
The initiative will connect students with mentors and other students in their chosen field for support and guidance. The program will also include meetings throughout the semester.
The AACC created the initiative, led by graduate asistant Richard Meinke.
“It offers this intergroup dialogue that will then stem into other things, either academic support, professional support, making sure that these students know that they can navigate throughout this field, and to make sure these students know the empowerment they have in themselves as women of color to overcome these challenges,” Meinke said. “We think that they can do that by making sure there’s a community being built up around the field.”
Meinke said he hopes the program will offer a social setting for a dialogue about being a minority woman in a STEM field. Professors also provide connections to students for academic and personal support.
As the first of its kind at the University, the program results from the growing amount of research about minority women in STEM fields.
“Not only are these students women in the field, which is a minority in and of itself, but also women of color which makes them even a double minority in the area,” Meinke said.
So far, 50 students have registered for the program, but the AACC is still building awareness in the different departments around the University.
Meinke said because the University is a STEM focused university, there is a good environment for a program like this to develop, and the AACC would like to see the program stay for many years.
“Hopefully this is something that can grow into a much larger scale program,” Meinke said.
The new initiative will be one of several other diversity programs in the STEM fields at the University.
The College of Engineering is also adding a new diversity program this spring, called Start Smart.
Start Smart is a workshop for female engineering students focused on developing negotiating skills for future careers.
Sarah Jones,College of Engineering associate director of Student Services and Diversity said the college has several initiatives for minorities.
“We’re just trying to narrow that gap because frequently women just tend to accept what is given to them whereas men tend to negotiate more, so we’re trying to develop those skills,” said Jones.
The STEM Initiative’s first meeting is Wednesday in the AACC on Raphael Semmes Road.