A Series of Firsts: Women In Michigan Science and Engineering celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Women In Science and Engineering Program (WISE) at the University of Michigan. Comprised of in-depth interviews with twelve alumnae, this website documents the experiences of women who earned Bachelor or Master of Science degrees at the University of Michigan between 1942-1957. Many of the women went on to pursue successful careers in the sciences, working as professors at institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toledo, or in the private sector for companies that included Shell Chemical, North American Aviation and the Ford Company.
Now skip ahead twenty years to Barbara Sloat's interview, which focuses on the founding and early years of the Women In Science program. Presenting a unique viewpoint of academic life after second wave feminism, she discusses the challenges WISE faced in its early years, not the least of which was annual fundraising. She also highlights some of the most rewarding programs and resources they developed in those first five years including the Warner-Lambert Lecture Series, the Women Faculty in the Sciences Resource Directory, and an annual conference for women in science.
This project is funded by a generous contribution from the University of Michigan Alumnae Birthday Greeting Council. The Alumnae Council is the association of women graduates of the University of Michigan. The Birthday Greeting Campaign is an annual campaign that appeals exclusively to alumnae and women who support the U-M.
All of the interviews on the website are also available in the softbound book A Series of Firsts: Women In Michigan Science and Engineering from the Bentley Historical Library.
Order by emailing us umwise@umich.edu and we will tell you the shipping cost.
Or download the FREE PDF for your computer or e-reader.
Women In Science and Engineering
1140 Undergraduate Science Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
ph: 734.615.4455
e: umwise@umich.edu