SEGWA Tools

Student Groups

The graduate women in many science and engineering departments have founded voluntary student organizations (VSOs) to facilitate their activities. Being an officially recognized student group allows you to take advantage of resources such as Stanford web hosting, ASSU banking, restricted funding sources, and being listed in the Stanford Directory.

The main SEGWA page lists Stanford groups related to women in science and engineering, many of which are VSOs. You can get involved in any of these existing organizations by contacting them directly; if none meets your needs, you can start your own group.

The Office of Student Activities manages the process of becoming an official student group. Applications are accepted near the beginning of Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, and it takes about one month to complete their step-by-step process.

Funding

Groups can obtain funding for special projects or events from many different sources, including the following:

The Graduate Student Council funds events that promote graduate community and are open to the entire grad student body. These funds are available to VSOs only.

The ASSU Speakers Bureau can provide co-sponsorship funds for bringing well known speakers to campus.

The Graduate Student Programming Board has some funds available for co-sponsoring events for graduate students. The maximum amount they grant per event is $500.

Your school or department may be able to provide support for events and resources that are relevant to your field. We recommend having a specific objective and well defined budget when approaching individuals such as Deans and Chairs for support.

Off campus groups or individuals can also provide funds for your group, but you must follow the external fundraising guidelines put forth by the Office of Student Activities.

Many other funding sources are available on campus. The Office of Student Activities and the Graduate Student Council both provide more extensive lists of fundraising suggestions.

Publicity

Many avenues exist for getting the word out about events and resources, including the following:

The SEGWA Events Calendar lists all events relevent to women in science and engineering at Stanford. Visit the calendar to submit an event or to learn how to sign up for the weekly email summary.

Events at Stanford provides an online calendar of events and a network of video screens at high traffic points around campus. After taking a short online training course, you can publicize your events via these media. Their submission form also allows you to suggest your event for publication in the Stanford Daily and the Stanford Report.

The Grad Events Email Bulletin can be used to advertise events with a broad appeal. It is sent out to a large voluntary distribution list every Monday.

Posting flyers in areas frequented by your target audience can be an effective tool for publicizing events. We suggest hanging flyers on departmental bulletin boards, in grad residence lobbies, on campus kiosks, on the Treehouse bulletin board, and even in women's bathrooms.

Countless other publicity options exist. A good place to start brainstorming is this list created by the GSC.

General Resources

Female scientists and engineers may find the following web resources helpful and interesting during their time at Stanford:

MentorNet provides a free e-mentoring service, pairing students with an individual from industry or academia and suggesting topics for discussion.

Next Wave is a career development magazine, updated weekly on the Web, that has been published since 1995 by the research journal Science.

PhDs.org lists career resources for doctoral students in math, science, and engineering.

Among its many services, the Stanford Alumni Association maintains an online database of contact information for current students and alumni. Registering is free and allows you to search for other Stanford people in your field or geographical area.

The Career Development Center provides students with career counseling and employment resources.

The Center for Teaching and Learning supports teaching assistants with a variety of services such as free class videotaping and custom teaching evaluations.

Stanford's Office for Campus Relations aims to help the university maintain an environment that is supportive and respectful for all participants. Specifically of interest are the Sexual Harassment Policy office, which delineates improper behavior and suggests effective responses, and the Ombuds office, which can act as an impartial resolver in disputes.

The proceedings of the 2004 Workshop on Mentoring in Engineering, which was held at Stanford, address the under-representation of women in academic engineering.

Results from the 2004 Graduate Academic Life Survey showcase student satisfaction in nine key areas. This survey was performed by the Graduate Student Council.