 |
|
|
INSIDE IOWA STATE
May 24, 2002
Smoothing the way for others
 |
Karen Zunkel heads the Program for Women in Science and
Engineering. Photo by Bob Elbert. |
by Debra Gibson
As an Iowa State engineering major 20 years ago, Karen Zunkel was one of the
guys.
Accustomed to being among few other women in her classes, this "professor's
kid" formed a study group with three male engineering majors that lasted
throughout their four years on campus. The fledgling Society for Women
Engineers chapter held little interest for Zunkel, who grew up in Ames, was
active in her sorority and who viewed herself as "an engineer, not a woman
engineer."
"I was either very nave or very confident," Zunkel says now of her
undergraduate days. "I'd played sports with boys all my life, so I never
felt discouraged or discriminated against in college." Add to that a nearly
lifelong association with the ISU campus (Zunkel's father, Charlie
Martinson, is a retired associate professor of plant pathology, and her
mother, Kathryn Martinson, retired from the ISU Foundation as an account
clerk), and Zunkel's path toward her bachelor's degree was remarkably free
of roadblocks.
Paving that same smooth path for other girls and young women is Zunkel's
charge as the new director for Iowa State's Program for Women in Science and
Engineering (PWSE). She replaces Mary Ann Evans, who created the program in
1986, and who retired last year. (Evans continues to direct the program's
international component.)
Immersed in the engineering world since her 1983 ISU graduation, Zunkel is
well versed in the challenges that face her.
"Nationally, the percentage of young women enrolled in engineering and
science majors has reached a plateau of about 15 percent of admitted
students," Zunkel explained, "and that percentage has remained stagnant for
quite some time. If we're going to continue to meet industry demand in those
areas, we need more women."
Zunkel began her own professional odyssey with AT&T Technologies, first as a
product engineer in Oklahoma City and then as a systems consultant in Des
Moines. Concurrently, she earned a master's degree from the University of
Oklahoma and relocated to central Iowa so her husband, Gary (now a program
coordinator for the ISU Research Foundation), could return to his family's
farming operation.
By 1990, the Zunkels had two young sons, and Karen was looking for a
professional change. She signed on as a part-time, temporary instructor in
freshman engineering, thus beginning an 11-year stint in the College of
Engineering.
Her tenure there might best be described as "eclectic." For the first five
years, her responsibilities ranged from creating the "Not All Engineers
Drive Trains" curriculum, to teaching ICN graduate courses to Rockwell
engineers, to coordinating a women's program for the college. In 1996,
Zunkel became manager of engineering student services (now known as
engineering undergraduate programs). In that position, she oversaw the
college's orientation program, scholarships, outreach and recruitment and
various academic management assignments.
So why the change?
"This position gives me the opportunity to pursue these programs at the
university level," Zunkel explained. "I want to help the university partner
better. We all set up our little kingdoms and we do great things. But we're
not taking advantage of what the others on campus are doing, and
consequently we aren't always as efficient as we could be."
The PWSE program reaches out to girls and young women from elementary ages
through their university experience. Conferences like "Taking The Road Less
Traveled" expose young girls to career options in science, engineering and
technology. Residence hall programs and learning communities on campus group
together women with similar academic and career interests for classroom and
living opportunities. Summer internships pair female students with
university professors to collaborate on research projects. Mentoring
programs and scholarships round out the institutional support to these
women.
Zunkel now finds herself in a review process of these programs and services
as PWSE moves toward its third decade of existence.
"Now's the time to ask if we're still doing the right things," she said.
"I'm an industrial engineer, and I focus on the cost benefits. I think it
may be time to become more business-focused, to understand better what
industry wants and how we can meet those needs.
"And we have to recognize that the professions have changed --I took
programming on punch cards," she noted. "Aside from the technological
changes, employers are doing a better job at recognizing employees as whole
persons, and are becoming more accommodating and more flexible. This is a
real plus for women in those professions. We just have to learn to sell it
that way."
Zunkel, who is completing an ISU doctorate in educational leadership and
policy studies, sees intensified outreach efforts as her main strategy in
moving beyond the admissions plateau.
"Initially, we need to capitalize on our strength as a central university
program," she said. "Then we can better serve these women as we partner with
individual departments and colleges. The neat thing is that PWSE has name
recognition across this state. Now's the time to make it even better and
eventually see another increase of women coming in to our programs."
Is there the possibility Zunkel will do such a good job she'll make her own
program obsolete?
"I don't see those numbers growing that high in my career lifetime," she
responded. "Every major university has a program like this. The gap
continues to widen between industry needs and numbers of graduates. And at
some level, we need more programming for underrepresented students. There's
a lot of work to be done."
|
Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4111
Published by: University Relations,
online@iastate.edu
Copyright © 1995-2001, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.
|
|