Women Count
A Conference for Directors of Mathematics Outreach Programs for Young Women
The Women Count Conference is organized every other year in conjunction with MathFest (see http://www.maa.org/mathfest for information about MathFest), and will next be held in Portland, Oregon, on August 5, 2009. This conference is organized by the Women and Mathematics Network under the auspices of the MAA Committee on the Participation of Women. The purpose of this conference is to disseminate information about current successful outreach programs for young women and to encourage the establishment of more programs throughout the nation. By associating this effort with the Mathfest scheduling, it is hoped this conference will be professionally beneficial to the Women Count participants as well as provide an opportunity to better publicize outreach efforts to the broader mathematical community. Support for this conference is being provided by the National Security Agency and the Tensor Foundation.
The participants in the Women Count Conference will be selected from the applications of experienced and prospective program directors. Team entries that pair an experienced director with a prospective director from the same geographic region are encouraged because this enhances the opportunities for continued mentoring following the conference. Partial travel support (approximately $400) will be provided for 24 participants. This conference will include a workshop on grant writing, and breakout sessions for programs for high school students versus those with a middle school focus. Discussion topics include on such issues as selection of program format, recruitment of young women, types of hands-on activities, possible funding sources, and assessment procedures.
The online application form is now available. Review of applicants will begin on May 22, 2009.
Please email Betsy Yanik with any questions.