By Caroline Hetzel
Valley Voices Staff Writer
Dozens of students stood in line to introduce themselves to the representatives of various colleges and universities at the Coast-to-Coast College Fair on April 26, but few female students stood before the tables of schools oriented to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, such as Georgia Institute of Technology.
At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, William Sutton, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, said that only three females are currently obtaining a Bachelor of Science in engineering. Three women are pursuing a Master of Science in engineering and five are in engineering management.
“The number of female students enrolling in engineering specifically has not changed since the 1980s even though there are more females in the medical field and other STEM careers. The role models are few, but those that do exist are becoming more active in helping excite females about engineering,” said Cecelia Wigal, assistant dean of undergraduate programs at UTC.