EAST LANSING – The Michigan State University College of Engineering will have

more than 1,000 women students, from freshmen to seniors, in the college when

classes start at MSU – a first at MSU Engineering. The upward trend follows the

college’s overall enrollment increase in the past several years.

“This fall we are welcoming one of the largest classes of freshman

students in more than 25 years, with women students comprising nearly

one-quarter of the incoming class,” said MSU Engineering Dean Leo Kempel.

“These are exciting times in the college. The college is well on its way

to becoming one of the fastest rising engineering programs in the nation,”

Kempel said.

The College of Engineering’s 2015 -16 official enrollment figures won’t be

available until October, but officials estimate they welcomed more than 1,400

incoming students at the Freshman Colloquium Sept. 1. Among those 1,400

incoming students are more than 300 women freshmen.

The college’s current enrollment is around 5,000 undergraduate students and

more than 800 graduate students.

In 2013, the college brought in its largest entering class in 25 years when it

welcomed 1,300 undergraduates to campus. That record was shattered in the fall

of 2014, when the college welcomed 1,400 freshmen including 260 women – one of

the largest groups of women to enter the college in decades. This year, the

college is on track to surpass that mark.

Recruitment efforts engage the staffs in the college’s K-12 Outreach, Diversity

Programs Office, and Women in Engineering. Four who are focused on

strengthening the number of women students in the college are Teresa Isela

VanderSloot, director for women in engineering recruitment and K-12 outreach,

her assistant director Geralynn Phelps, and Judy Cordes, director for student

success, and her assistant director Sandra Christlieb.

VanderSloot said the recruitment and retention team are optimistic they will

set new enrollment standards in 2015 – 16.

“We’re on track for the freshman class to be

more than 20 percent female,” she said.

The college’s female enrollment in 2014-2015 was about 18 percent of

undergraduates. The college’s overall goal is to have an undergraduate

population that is 25 percent female by 2020.

“Young women want to make a difference in the world, rather than solely

focusing on course content,” said VanderSloot. “Our job is to help them get

comfortable with the idea of being a Spartan Engineer.”

Cordes explained that she and Christlieb work with current students and others

to support women in engineering activities. “We work collectively to bring more

women into MSU Engineering, and then join forces to keep them here. A little

support goes a long way,” Cordes said.

“We find that fostering personal connections and student achievement through

mentoring, peer-led opportunities, and leadership techniques work well for our

students. We offer formal and informal mentoring sessions, special events, and even ‘brain breaks’ to help students connect,” she said.

“Working with the students is always our ‘added bonus.”

Patricia Mroczek,

Communications Manager, Michigan State University