Leadership Symposium Co-Chairs:

Leadership Symposium Peer Reviewer:

Presentations
9:00am-9:25am		LDR01	Putting Values Back Into Business - Initiating Corporate Cultural Change
9:30am-9:55am		LDR02	Technical Women, America's Untapped Resource for Competitive Advantage
10:00am-10:25am			Coffee Break - Visit the Open Technical Exchange Poster Session
10:30am-10:55am		LDR03	Writing that Works: Rules to Use, Rules to Lose
11:00am-11:25am		LDR04	National Science Foundation Funding Opportunities
1:30pm-1:55pm		*LDR05	Leading Ladies: Technology, Women and Leadership
2:00pm-2:25pm		LDR06	Transition to Management - A Personal Perspective
2:30pm-2:55pm		LDR07	Promoting SWE Through Other Organizations
3:00pm-3:25pm		LDR08	Be A Leader
Posters
		LDRP01	Members-at-Large
		LDRP02	SWE Resume Database
		LDRP03	SWE 1999 National Convention and Student Conference - Phoenix
		LDRP04	SWE 2000 National Convention and Student Conference - Washington, D.C
		LDRP05	SWE 2001 National Convention and Student Conference - Denver
		LDRP07	SWE Continuing Development Committee
		LDRP08	SWE Archive Collection
		LDRP09	SWE Electronic Communications Committee
		LDRP10	SWE Women In Government Committee
		LDRP11	SWE Membership Committee
		LDRP12	SWE Career Guidance Committee
		LDRP13	SWE Awards & Recognition Committee
		LDRP14	SWE Public Relations Committee
		LDRP15	SWE Scholarship Committee

Session Codes
*xxxnn		Both an oral presentation and a poster
xxxPnn		Poster Only

LDR01
Putting Values Back Into Business - Initiating Corporate Cultural Change
Gregory S. Folley, Human Resources Manager, Caterpillar Inc., Track-Type Tractors Division
Margo E. Bubb, Sr. Quality Systems Engineer, Caterpillar Inc., Track-Type Tractors Division
James E. Despain, Vice President and General Manager, Caterpillar Inc., Track-Type Tractors Division
Mary Chrenka Opris, Quality Engineer, Caterpillar Inc., Training and Technical Support Services
Thursday, 9:00am–9:25am

During the early 1990's the Track-Type Tractors business unit at Caterpillar Inc. experienced several challenges. The business unit faced increasing global competition in the midst of an economic recession. Although intense plant modernization and reorganization occurred in the five previous years, the business unit was not profitable. In 1993, Track-Type Tractors instituted its solution - a change in culture.

Previously, the culture was one tainted by mistrust. This attitude was revealed in a 1992 review detailing the major obstacles inhibiting management from achieving divisional goals. The division leaders recognized that a change in business philosophy was required to achieve production goals and stay globally competitive. The review identified nine basic values needed to overcome the obstacles: Trust, Mutual Respect, Teamwork, Empowerment, Risk Taking, Sense of Urgency, Commitment, Continuous Improvement, and Customer Satisfaction. All nine values were then encompassed under one heading as "Our Common Values" and introduced to the entire business unit in 1993. The objective of Our Common Values was to not only enable the company to meet and exceed current goals, but to establish a set of timeless core divisional Values.

Effectiveness of the Common Values is measured by employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and profit. Since 1993, the business has experienced dramatic increases in these areas.

LDR02
Technical Women, America's Untapped Resource for Competitive Advantage
Virginia Counts, Industrial Engineer, Allied Signal Engines
Thursday, 9:30am–9:55am

Even though many companies are making an effort to hire reasonable numbers of women, they are not very successful at promoting these women to the top positions within the organizations and retaining women at all levels. Many women are not staying at these companies long enough to move very far into the "pipeline to the top." When the corporation idly stands by and watches women leave the firm, they are losing not only just this one worker, but all that has been invested during the years of employment (initial recruitment cost, training, experience, and loss of a role model for others in the organization). Given many company's goals for hiring more women, the replacement worker could likely be a woman as well and the cycle continues.

Company executives need to be strongly convinced that this cycle must be broken through changes to the corporate culture. A model will be presented to show how a company's culture effects the organization, which in turn impacts the company's finances and bottom line. This model will help executives understand the factors (and their interactions) which influence upward mobility and ultimately retention of women in their organizations. The results of the model will provide motivation, in terms of the company bottom line, for the executives to include women into their strategic technical planning process.

LDR03
Writing that Works: Rules to Use, Rules to Lose
Pam Tatge, Member Group Technical Staff, Texas Instruments, Semiconductor Group
Thursday, 9:30am–9:55am

Many of us who are in technical careers spend at least 25% of our time writing on the job. Our technical and engineering educations rarely prepare us for so much writing. Worse, much of what we've learned about writing effective scientific writing is extremely ineffective for other forms of written communication, especially for business writing. And, who can remember all of those moldy old rules from high school English classes (like "don't start a sentence with the word and")? Are they rules at all? It's little wonder that writing becomes an agonizing task for so many of us. In this presentation, you will learn which of those old rules to throw away and which rules really contribute toward clear, effective communications that are less stressful for you to create. Learn how to focus on making sense, rather than on following half-forgotten rules or on trying to impress your readers. Learn how to increase the probability that people will read what you write, that they'll interpret your writing the way you want them to, and that they will behave the way you need them to as a result of reading what you've written.

LDR04
National Science Foundation Funding Opportunities
Joy Pauschke, PhD, PE, Program Director, National Science Foundation, Engineering Education and Centers Division
Thursday, 11:00am–11:25am

The National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, VA funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Awards are typically made to universities, colleges, academic consortia, non-profit institutions and small businesses. The NSF also supports cooperative research between universities and industry and US participation in international scientific efforts. The NSF strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to participate fully in its programs. This presentation gives an overview of NSF program initiatives in education and research, the NSF proposal process, and how applicants can be notified electronically of new NSF program initiatives and documents as they are issued.

*LDR05
Leading Ladies: Technology, Women and Leadership
Marilyn M. Reeder,Project Manager, Systems Project Management, The Conair Group
Thursday, 1:30pm–1:55pm

Women engineers have struggled with professional acceptance from the day the first woman received an engineering degree. The movement into traditional leadership positions is slow, at best, and prevented by the "Glass Ceiling", at worst. In the seventies, women were encouraged to "fit in" by learning games their mothers never taught them, using sport speak and dressing in comic imitations of traditional business suits with floppy bow ties. Less emphasis was placed on the benefits of workforce diversity and more on teaching women to play according to men's rules. With the percentage of working female engineers hovering at less than 10%, little emphasis continues to be placed on the positive aspects of women's leadership styles. Recent research on the ways that women lead has found both differences and similarities with men. This paper seeks to analyze this research, apply the analysis to women in technology and provide practical tips for leading women at all levels of organizations. The results of the survey conducted by the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers will be included in the analysis.

LDR06
Transition to Management - A Personal Perspective
Janet L. Williams, PE, Manager, Facilities Project Development and Integration, Sandia National Laboratories
Thursday, 2:00pm–2:25pm

This paper explores one woman's journey through her recent promotion into management, and will identify key factors that helped prepare and position her to be ready to exercise leadership through a formal management role. It discusses assessment of qualifications and skills, acquisition of needed skills, the influence of luck and timing, and the use of mentors and delegation as survival skills to get through the transition period and become fully functional as a manager. It also includes insights into sensitive issues such as how to relate to former peers, how to gain credibility as the "junior" member of the management team, and how to juggle family responsibilities with increased time commitments at work. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the help we receive in reaching our own career goals and offering the same kind of help and support to those in the early stages of their careers.

LDR07
Promoting SWE Through Other Organizations
Betty P. Preece, Science and Engineering Education Consultant, Indialantic FL
Thursday, 2:30pm–2:55pm

Making SWE visible through activities with other organizations brings dividends for both organizations. Examples of successful collaborations of SWE Sections and Student Sections with other groups serving students and teachers as well as the professional engineering and technical communities will be described. These will include programs such as SEES (Students to Experience Engineering and Science), SWE exhibits and technical sessions at National Science Teachers Association national and regional conventions, WEPAN (Women Engineering Programs Advocates Network) national conventions, and SECME (Science, Engineering, Communications, Math Enrichment) schools and competitions. Suggestions will be given on locating opportunities for collaboration, planning appropriate programs, finding suitable leaders and participants, obtaining funding, getting publicity and carrying out the activities. Time for discussion and sharing by audience of other successful collaborative activities with similar SWE visibility results will be included.

LDR08
Be A Leader
Amanda O. Harris, Director, Safety & Mission Assurance Office, NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center
Thursday, 3:00pm–3:25pm

What does it take to be a leader? For some, it comes naturally and others have to work hard to acquire characteristics to lead a successful organization. It takes a variety of skills to lead an organization toward its mission; situational leadership is key to that success. This paper will discuss different types of leadership, choices leaders make, and effacacies of leaders. The goal of this paper is to show how one can posture and utilize the appropriate skills necessary to become an effective leader in the workplace today.

LDRP01
Members-at-Large
Claire M. Shortall, MAL President

If you aren't already a Member-at-Large, the day may come when you move to an area that doesn't have a SWE Section. But that doesn't mean there isn't any SWE! Come learn about the MALs and what MALs do for and in the Society.

SWE has about 80 Sections in the United States and Puerto Rico. With the increasing number of women engineers, it's no wonder that MALs - those members not affiliated with a Section - are located in most states and about 20 foreign countries. New members sometimes join as MALs, either because a Section is trying to get started nearby or simply because they support the Society's objectives. More often, newly upgraded students or relocating members become MALs.

Although the MALs would like to see the United States peppered with Sections, it is unlikely that rural and smaller metropolitan areas will ever be able to support them. Members in those areas, foreign countries, overseas military locations, and those who simply decide not to belong to a Section will always find a home with the Members-at-Large. So, don't worry if there isn't a Section nearby. Find out about the MALs so you'll always remain connected with SWE!

LDRP02
SWE Resume Database
Resume Link Representative

Resume-Link has been an innovator in the human resource community by merging technology with traditional recruiting methods. Through the Society of Women Engineers Resume Database System (SWERD), we help members let the right job find them. Members can register their resume information on-line or through the mail. The service is a free member benefit for student and professional SWE members. An interested member simply fills out a short enrollment form and attaches their resume for inclusion in the database. Employers can access the hundreds of entry level to skilled engineers by calling Resume-Link and purchasing the SWERD system. The employer's job specifications are easily transferred into search queries that identify the most qualified candidates for their openings. Thus, the "needle in the haystack" becomes quicker and easier to find.

LDRP03
SWE 1999 National Convention and Student Conference - Phoenix
Ann Norton, Co-Chair

LDRP04
SWE 2000 National Convention and Student Conference - Washington, D.C.
Michelle Tortolani, Co-Chair
Penny Wirsing, Co-Chair

LDRP05
SWE 2001 National Convention and Student Conference - Denver
Sandra Scanlon, Co-Chair
Kristy Schloss, Co-Chair
Jill Tietjen, Co-Chair

LDRP07
SWE Continuing Development Committee
Dell Larned, Continuing Development Committee Chair

Stop by the poster session to learn about the activities and volunteer opportunities with the Continuing Development (CD) Committee. Current projects, as well as volunteer needs will be outlined. Questions about the committee can be addressed by the Committee Chair and/or Committee Member at this session.

LDRP08
SWE Archive Collection
Jaclyn A. Spear, Archive Committee Chair

Archives are the records, procedures and processes of the Society, as well as the yearly happenings and history of the parts that make up the Society. One of the Society's objectives is "to serve as a center of information on women in engineering." The SWE archives are the major source of historical information and publications about the Society and our membership, and should be the major source of information on the social history of women in engineering. In order to achieve this objective, the SWE archives collection must be accessible and user-friendly to the membership and interested researchers. In 1993 the SWE archives were shipped from the Society's Headquarters in New York City to Detroit MI, where they are maintained at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.

The goals of the Archives Committee are: 1. Revise the finders guide and archive numbering system to meet reference needs; 2. Publicize the archive collection 3. Organize Headquarters collection system for annual deposits to the archive collection; 4. Upgrade Headquarters office files for members, sections and award recipients.

Much of the work involved in achieving these goals is very labor intensive. Committee volunteers can do some of the work, but a long-term goal is to have a designated staffer at Headquarters whose duties include overseeing the collection and sorting of archival material and being the Society contact with the Reuther Library for members and researchers interested in information on women in engineering.

LDRP09
SWE Electronic Communications Committee
Deb O'Bannon, PhD, PE, Electronic Communications Committee Chair

The SWE Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) is responsible for the national SWE web page (http://www.swe.org), coordinates the Regional Gatekeepers, and manages the many listservs which the Society uses for internal communications. Come see how ECC can help your SWE efforts, and how you can become involved in ECC.

LDRP10
SWE Women In Government Committee
Robin M. Orans, Women In Government Committee Chair

This session will include pictures of women working at various levels (federal, state, local) and jobs within the Government.

LDRP11
SWE Membership Committee
Patti W. Garland, Membership Committee Chair

The Membership Committee will be available to answer any questions or address concerns you may have. They are also proud to display posters that highlight two of their recent products, the SWE Membership Manual: A Handbook on Membership Retention and Recruitment and the SWE Member Guidebook.

LDRP12
SWE Career Guidance Committee
Toni Doolen, Career Guidance Committee Chair

This poster session will highlight the activities of the SWE Career Guidance Committee. There will be handouts and web url information for career guidance tools which can be used by any SWE section in their outreach activities. Some of the activities which will be highlighted are the update/upgrade of the Career Guidance IdeaBook, the new SWE electronic mentoring project for high school girls, the new Career Guidance award format, and the Girl Scout program too.

LDRP13
SWE Awards & Recognition Committee
Stacey Culver, Awards & Recognition Committee Chair

This presentation will provide information on the many individual and section awards given by the Society each year.

LDRP14
SWE Public Relations Committee
Penny Wirsing, Public Relations Committee Chair

The goal of the Public Relations Committee is to establish SWE as THE organization of and for women engineers, in the eyes of its members, its supporters, the media, and the public. This year the focus was on implementing short term initiatives, and laying the groundwork for long range activities. Short term initiatives include such activities as updating and distributing a 'publicity guide' to all sections; soliciting input from sections and regions regarding ongoing and past PR activities that can be recognized and publicized; and establishing a strong PR committee. Long range plans include conducting PR training sessions at convention and regional meetings; assessing the PR activities of other professional societies; and establishing and maintaining communication with media on the national and local levels.

LDRP15
SWE Scholarship Committee
Marie A. Quintana, Scholarship Committee Chair

The Society of Women Engineers Scholarship Committee awards over $100K in scholarships annually to women enrolled in undergraduate and graduate engineering and computer science programs across the country. It is an exciting process which provides students with more than just monetary support. The vote of confidence is often more valuable than the scholarship itself. Come see how you and your section can contribute to the scholarship program.