Indiana State University Newsroom

A summit aimed at attracting more young women to science, technology, engineering and math fields is scheduled for September 30 in Terre Haute.

Indiana State University will host "Where Are the Girls: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education and Careers" at the John T. Myers Technology Center, 605 Cherry St.

Sponsored by the Great Lakes Girls Collaborative Project, a regional affiliate of the National Girls Collaborative Project, the summit is aimed at policymakers and leaders in education, government, business and the community - and anyone with a stake in the topic.

Lynn F.H. Cline, deputy associate administrator for space operations at NASA, will be the keynote speaker. Cline is responsible for oversight of a broad variety of capabilities across NASA's space operations programs, including the space shuttle, the International Space Station, space communications and navigation, launch services, and crew health and safety.

Previously she was the NASA lead negotiator on agreements with Canada, Europe, Japan and Russia for the International Space Station. She has held a variety of positions in support of NASA's international relations, negotiating many agreements, including the agreement with the European Space Agency for the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn and its moon Titan.

Cline received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) International Cooperation Award in 1998. She was also selected for the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive in 1997 and 2004. She is a fellow of the American Astronautical Society, an associate fellow of the AIAA and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Cline received her Bachelor of Arts degree from East Carolina University in 1976 and her Master of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1979 in French language and culture.

"Where are the Girls" is being planned by the Great Lakes Collaborative Project's Champions Board and its leadership team, which includes representatives from Alcoa Engineered Products and Solutions, Indiana Department of Education, the I-STEM Resource Network, the American Association of University Women, Indiana State University, Purdue University, the University of Evansville, and the University of Michigan.

The summit's goals include creating awareness among key Indiana leaders and stakeholders of the importance of encouraging more females to pursue studies and career choices in the STEM fields; to provide access to resources such as funding, people, content, facilities, and tools to enable participants to educate young women about the career opportunities within these fields of study. The summit will offer an environment to foster new collaborations to further this goal.

Exhibit spaces for organizations offering STEM outreach programs are available. The deadline for registration is Sept. 1. More information about the conference, including a registration form, is at http://www.indstate.edu/tss/inglgc/. A National Science Foundation grant is providing partial funding for the summit.

More information about the Great Lakes Girls Collaborative Project is at http://www.ngcproject.com/greatlakes/index.cfm.

Contacts: Elizabeth Mimms, program manager, University of Michigan Programs for Educational Opportunities, 734-9910 or emimms@umich.edu; Bev Bitzegaio, director of outreach and student career services, College of Technology, Indiana State University, 812-237-3775 or bev.bitzegaio@indstate.edu.