| WCC Annual Report |
| |
| Goals of the LSWCC Annual Report |
The purpose of LSWCC
Annual Reports is to summarize and highlight the achievements
of Local Section (LS) WCCs every year. This accomplishes
several objectives:
(1) continuity within each LSWCC to
use for future reference and succession planning;
(2)
increased awareness of LSWCC programming to share with the LS
ACS and the National WCC;
(3) conveyance of event ideas
with other LSWCCs. Along those lines, Annual Reports are used
to select LSWCC award winners. | |
| Submission of the LSWCC Annual Report |
| This form must be
completed if you wish to be nominated for a LSWCC award. If
you do not wish to be nominated for an award or do not have a
LSWCC, this form is optional. | |
| I. Overall Evaluation |
| Provide a brief, general
overview of the LSWCC. Reflect on the state of the committee
-- if the goals of last year were accomplished, possibly
commenting candidly about the activities. |
ACS Women in Chemistry (WiC) was founded at
Michigan State University in 1997 to address the
needs and concerns of women who have or are pursuing
advanced degrees in chemistry and related fields.
WiC provides opportunities for women chemists to
interact with one another, and establishes programs
which are designed to facilitate both professional
and personal growth. Opportunities are also
available for network building and for establishing
mentoring relationships among members. Our members
consist of graduate students, postdocs, specialists,
and faculty members in the MSU Department of
Chemistry. This year has proven to be quite
successful both in terms of outreach and educational
opportunities, as interest in WiC events increased.
While our mission remains the same, we continue to
hold a variety of new activities which we hope will
appeal to a variety of different audiences. The
specific goals of 2005 were to expand and diversify
participation in WiC activities, to continue the
extensive community outreach program, and to build
and support the womens network at MSU. | | |
| II. Officers and Members |
| Provide a list of
current LS officers and committee members. Note who is writing
and submitting Annual Report. It is strongly suggested that
this list contain contact information, e.g. email addresses,
phone numbers, and mailing addresses, for the: |
| LSWCC Officers |
Co-Chairs: Amber Hupp (ambermhupp@chemistry.msu.edu)
and Audrey Martin (martin@chemistry.msu.edu).
This report was submitted by the co-chairs. | |
| WCC Mentor |
Dr. Kathryn Severin (severin@chemistry.msu.edu) | |
| WCC Members |
Steering Committee Members: Anne Fischer, Maricris
Lodriquito, Elizabeth McGaw, Melissa Meaney, Sarah
Stevenson, and Soheila Vaezeslami. | | |
| III. Activities |
| This section highlights
each LSWCC activity in more detail, such as: a description of
the event, how many people attended, what did and did not
work, obstacles encountered, photographs, websites, etc. |
In hopes of educating scientists at MSU, our opening
activity for 2005 consisted of a lecture series
entitled "Things Every Scientist Should Know -
Outside the Laboratory." These twelve seminars
provided an opportunity for scientists from all
disciplines to become educated in areas of that are
not typically taught during the graduate school
years. Topics ranged from financial planning to
presentation skills to tips on finding funding and
from conflict resolution to nutrition and alternative
careers. Several speakers were brought in from
outside MSU. Attendance was high for many of these
seminars, and included both female and male
scientists from a wide variety of scientific
disciplines at both the undergraduate and graduate
levels. The event was advertised in all Natural
Science departments through email, posters, and word
of mouth, as well as through neighboring ACS local
sections.
In an effort to sustain a variety of networking
opportunities, WiC continued to host "Meet the
Speaker" events. In these meetings, graduate
students informally talk with women visiting the
Department of Chemistry to find out about their
experiences as a woman with an advanced degree in
chemistry. During 2005, we held four "Meet the
Speaker" events, with attendance ranging from 10 to
15 graduate students.
In 2005, our outreach program focused on encouraging
and sustaining the interest of young people in the
sciences. First, WiC held the 2nd annual Scout
Chemistry Merit Badge Day for middle school-aged boy
and girl scouts. This event allowed area scouts to
earn a Chemistry merit badge (boys) or Interest
Project Patch (girls) through participation in
several activities and experiments throughout the
course of the day. A mixture of 45 girl and boy
scouts attended the event. Second, WiC participated
in the Girls Math/Science Conference held at Haslett
High School. WiC members provided "Solving Murder
with Makeup" and "How Hard is Water?" hands-on
demonstrations for the GMSC. Participants included
young girls who had expressed an early interest in
math or science. Also, WiC designed and monitored
the Chemistry Laboratory event for the Michigan
Science Olympiad held at Michigan State University.
Responsibilities included writing and testing a
laboratory experiment, and proctoring high school
students during the test. Last, members of WiC
presented three hands-on demonstrations as this
years Chemistry Day held at Impression V Museum in
Lansing. These demonstrations included "Invisible
Ink", "Magic Sand", and "Screaming Gummy Bears."
Participation among WiC members was high for this
event, and the activities were a hit with the kids.
WiC also provided activities which offered a
supportive environment within the community and to
increase participation. In the spring, an end-of-the-
semester barbeque was held at the home of Dr. Kathryn
Severin for women in the department, while a fall
welcome lunch was offered to incoming women graduate
students in the Department of Chemistry. In the
winter, an end-of-the-semester cookie exchange was
held at the home of one of the co-chairs for WiC
members. In addition, WiC again participated in the
American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer walk by raising nearly $2200 towards
the fight against breast cancer and by adding 14
walkers to the over 3000 total supporters. WiC
raised money by holding the annual ice cream social,
making personal donations, and through the sale of
pink ribbons and key chains, the symbol of breast
cancer awareness. | | |
| IV. Budget |
| Itemize each event with
the cost, and acknowledge the source of funds. |
New Graduate Student Luncheon $100
Girls Math Science Conference $20
Scout Merit Badge Day $100
Michigan Science Olympiad $30
Spring Seminar Series $4580*
All funding was provided by the ACS Local Section.
Supplies for outreach activities are generally
provided without cost to Women in Chemistry by the
MSU Dept. of Chemistry.
*Funding for the spring seminar series was provided
by the American Chemical Society Innovative Projects
grant, The Graduate School at Michigan State
University, the MSU College of Natural Science, and
the MSU College of Engineering. | | |
| V. Future Plans |
| State the short-term
objectives such as brain-storming ideas and point-people for
specific projects. Also, state the long-term goals, e.g. the
purpose of the LSWCC. |
Plans for 2006 include continuation of the past
outreach activities, while increasing our
collaboration with the Younger Chemists Committee on
events such as the Michigan Science Olympiad. New
this year, WiC will sponsor a womens luncheon for
students and professionals at the ACS Central
Regional Meeting to be held in Frankenmuth, MI in
May. | | | |