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 hosted a luncheon with STEM faculty where Delta Initiative members got to discuss their own ambitions and the career paths of various women in STEM faculty.
• We partnered for the third year in a row with the Tuscaloosa branch of Girl Scouts to host our annual “Spooky Science” event where members of the Delta Initiative did spooky-themed science experiments to encourage young girls’ interest in STEM.
• The Delta Initiative members attended an AAUW Start Smart Pay Equity/Pay Negotiation training to learn about pay negotiation methods, the importance of cover letters and resumes, and information about the reasons behind the gender wage gap.
• We held a trivia night to welcome the Delta Initiative members back at the beginning of the spring semester.
• Co-op and research ambassadors, as well as a former Delta Initiative member, discussed the co-op and research process for UA students.
• Members met to enjoy food and watch the documentary Picture a Scientist.
• We hosted an End of the Year Celebration/Study Party where DI members gathered together for one last time to celebrate all of their hard work from the past year and to help prepare for finals.

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 2024-2025 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.