New WISE coordinator

By Adriana Hunstad

Last month, Tamara McCarron was appointed the University of Calgary’s first Women in Science and Engineering coordinator, charged with promoting science and engineering to women.

McCarron replaces Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, National Science and Engineering Research Council/Petro-Canada Chair of Women in Science and Engineering (Prairie Region) from 1997–2002. McCarron’s position will be funded for three years through the efforts of nserc, Petro-Canada, and the Deans of the Faculties of Science and Engineering.

“The university’s president is very supportive of this initiative,” said McCarron. “By attracting better students, the university hopes to increase the number of female students in these two areas, which increases the overall enrollment.”

McCarron’s involvement began as an undergraduate with the wise club. From 1997–1998 she was the Finance Coordinator and was the club’s President from 1998–2000.

It was during her time with the club that the idea of a mentoring program for young girls first rose. This led to McCarron’s implementation of the SCIberMENTOR program in 2001, which she continues to run in her new position.

“SCIberMENTOR is an e-mail mentoring program for girls ages 11–18. They are matched up with mentors that are students or workers in the field,” said McCarron. “For southern Alberta, we have 300 participants in the program, with 70 matched pairs. The rest are mentors waiting to be matched. There are 380 involved province wide. We initially expected to only have 70 matched pairs province wide, so we’ve far exceeded those expectations!”

McCarron’s other responsibilities include running Explore it and Women in Engineering Day; and liaising with the wise club and both Science and Engineering graduate networks. She also sits on the Gender and Diversity Committee in engineering and the Women Advisory Committee for the Dean of the Faculty of Science.

The program may increase future enrollment at the U of C by informing potential students of educational and career opportunities in the sciences.

“Research shows we lose girls in the fields of science and engineering by age ten,” said McCarron. “With the lack of knowledge, these areas are not attractive. These programs are profiling careers that may not be known to them, and girls become more aware of opportunities available to them.”

One of McCarron’s plans is to introduce a Women in Science Day, similar to the one the Faculty of Engineering offers.

“This will give the average young girl the opportunity to discover what female researchers do in science. Hopefully, it will run in early 2003,” she said.

An active member of the community, McCarron has advice for all students.

“I am a big proponent of getting involved. You can volunteer and do different things to enhance your degree. By getting involved, you meet wonderful people that you establish relationships with that can last a lifetime.”

Currently, McCarron volunteers with the U of C Alumni Association, sits on their Board of Directors, and is involved as a Judge and Second Round Judge with the Calgary Youth Science Fair. Recently, she was appointed the Finance Chair for Explore IT, as the U of C’s representative.

McCarron graduated from the University of Calgary in June 2000, with a Bachelor of Science degree. She is currently working on her Master of Business Administration degree which she expects to complete in 2004.