PCCW grants support students in research and campus life issues

By Linda Grace-Kobas

Women students will receive important support in their research efforts and in adjusting to life at Cornell through two grants provided by the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW).

An alumnae group committed to advancing the involvement and leadership of women students, faculty, staff and alumnae, PCCW endowed the PCCW Leadership Fund for Women to promote its goals.

The first grant in 2003 will provide $60,000 over three years to be awarded as grants of approximately $1,000 to $1,500 each to undergraduate women students who are conducting research in the physical sciences in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

"In discussions with Cornell faculty and administrators, we find that the percentage of women students who pursue academic careers in the physical sciences remains low," said Martha Coultrap, PCCW chair. "These undergraduate research grants are an effort to address that problem, as well as to contribute to Cornell's mission to support undergraduate research. Our hope is that programming supported also by the grant will provide opportunities for students from the three colleges to interact and benefit from each others' experiences."

"One of the major problems bedeviling all undergraduates pursuing research is the lack of adequate funding," said David DeVries, assistant dean for academic advising in the College of Arts and Sciences. "The PCCW grant comes along at a crucial time for the college's undergraduate research program. We have been working very hard to broaden the scope of research available to students in the college and especially to encourage women from the college to engage in research in fields where women have not been as well represented. The PCCW fund will be a wonderful addition to the universitywide commitment to undergraduate research."

"The opportunity to engage in a tangible, meaningful research project with a faculty member can be an extremely enriching experience for an undergraduate," said Lisa Schneider, director of Learning Initiatives for Future Engineers (LIFE) in the College of Engineering. "Being involved, first-hand, in the real application of abstract concepts learned in a classroom often has an incredibly positive effect on a student's enthusiasm and sense of personal connection to the material. For women students in engineering, these connections are essential, sparking interests and opening doors which will lead to continued investment and success in the field. Providing women engineering students with these opportunities will influence individual career paths and help shape the future of these disciplines."

Donald Viands, associate dean and director of academic programs in CALS, said, "A major goal in CALS is to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to experience the research process. In the physical sciences, more women are needed in professional positions. Opportunities for our undergraduate women to experience research will provide a mechanism to create interest in research, leading more women into professions in the physical sciences."

The second PCCW grant will support programming by the Community Development staff for first-year women students that will address important women's issues and foster connections between freshmen and upperclass women, Coultrap said.

The grant of $3,000 will go to Student and Academic Services to develop programs during the 2003-04 academic year that is likely to highlight the history of women at Cornell, address health and wellness issues, and introduce students to alumnae.

"By supporting the needs of women students, PCCW hopes to have a long-range positive impact, not only on the mission of the university, but on the lives of a cross section of women students," Coultrap said.