The Delta Initiative: Capstone Women in STEM

Women have, historically, been underrepresented in many fields within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The WGRC has addressed this disparity through an awareness campaign launched in 2015, and a Living-Learning Community launched in 2016.

A Living/Learning Community

The Delta Initiative: Capstone Women in STEM is a community of freshmen women who will have the opportunity to live, learn, and study together. Community members will take a common Women’s Studies course, they will benefit from study spaces and programs in the residence hall that are designed with STEM majors in mind, and they will have the opportunity to participate in STEM specific community service. The Delta Initiative provides opportunities for career exploration, visits with STEM employers, and building meaningful connections with faculty and STEM practitioners.

These are some of the events we hosted in Fall 2020:

• We began the semester with an in-person, socially distanced meet-and-greet. Members of The Delta Initiative got to meet their Women’s Studies instructor, their RA, and one another. We did icebreakers, discussed their expectations for The Delta Initiative, and explored their STEM career aspirations.
• Our next event was a Q&A panel with STEM graduate students. The graduate students discussed their experience as undergraduates. We had two breakout rooms: one was for BIPOC students to discuss their experiences, and the other was a “What I Wish I Had Known” room for the graduate students to impart important lessons they learned throughout their undergraduate career.
• Our third event was a game night where we hung out over Zoom and played Jackbox games together.
• Our fourth event was a screening of the documentary, Picture a Scientist. We held this outside on the lawn adjacent to Shelby Hall and provided snacks.
• Our fifth event and service project for the semester was with the Tuscaloosa and Northport branches of the Girl Scouts! We traditionally host our Halloween event, “Spooky Science,” with Skyland Elementary School, but this year we were more than happy to partner with the Girl Scouts. DI members came and did “spooky” themed science experiments with the girls.
• Our final event was a panel with STEM graduate students and Gayle Howell from the Career Center. The panel discussed graduate school, internships, and the process of navigating your major.

Students majoring in biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, marine science, mathematics, microbiology, physics, or any major in the College of Engineering are eligible. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year are now available online.

Awareness Campaign

During the 2015-2016 academic year, The Women and Gender Resource Center received an AAUW Campus Action Project Grant for an awareness campaign called The Delta Initiative: Capstone Women in STEM. This print, video, and social media campaign emphasizes the importance of women’s involvement in STEM fields. We created five videos and eight posters to highlight the innovations and societal contributions of UA Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These materials are posted and shared online by the WGRC and our partners using the hashtag #CapstoneWomenInSTEM.

Visit our youtube channel to see the campaign videos for The Delta Initiative!

For questions or event information, e-mail Elizabeth Lester or call (205) 348-5040.