Newsletter #1
March 21, 2006
Dear Colleague,
My name is Paula Kemp. I am a Mathematics professor at Missouri State University. I draw your attention to an important project whose main purpose is to encourage girls to get interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics. I am inviting you to participate in the Midwest Rural-Urban (MRU) Girls Collaborative Project: http://www.missouristate.edu/mru . You are very welcome to participate either as an individual or part of a group.
The purpose of this project is to encourage collaboration between organizations. Such collaboration will help girls to get involved in activities and careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Currently minimal numbers of females are involved in these fields at a time when the country needs technical and scientific expertise to compete in the world market. Many schools and organizations in the Midwest offer programs to encourage and support girls' involvement in STEM activities. However, most of these programs operate in isolation competing for access to girls and resources. The MRU Girls Collaborative Project is designed to impact wider audiences of girls and expand available project resources through creating opportunities for girl-serving, STEM-related programs to collaborate, rather than compete. The grant will support activities and organizations in Missouri, Kansas and Northeastern Oklahoma.
Please click on http://www.missouristate.edu/mru for useful and important information.
- A Kick-Off celebration to familiarize various communities, schools, businesses, colleges and girl-serving programs with the MRU Girls Collaborative Project and to get input from these groups regarding needs and challenges related to engaging girls in STEM.
- Thirty-five $1000 mini-grants will be distributed to motivate and support innovative collaboration between organizations. For instance, a university and a school, OR a scout group and a tech business might partner to offer new activity options for girls in STEM.
Registration is FREE, deadline is Wednesday, March 29, 2006 and there is some travel money.
To register (so we have a food count) for the conference go to http://www.missouristate.edu/mru and click on "Register for Kick-Off Conference". The conference is: Saturday, April 1, 2006, 8:15 AM-3:15 PM at Missouri State University in the Plaster Student Union Theater.
Participants will enjoy opportunities to network, to learn about issues related to STEM education for girls and will learn about the mini-grant application process. The former astronaut Dr. Mary Ellen Weber will be our key note speaker.
Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. Please feel free to give copies of this letter to your colleagues.
Dr. Paula Kemp
PaulaKemp@missouristate.edu
Principal Investigator, MRU Project (supported by National Science Foundation)
Missouri State University
