Opportunity is knocking…

Have you thought about your next leadership role in SWE? Are you ready for the next level of challenge, development, responsibility, and reward? Do you want to make a difference in the Society and affect change?

The positions of Region Collegiate Representative (RCR) and Region Collegiate Communications Editor (RCCE) offer outstanding opportunities to interact with professional women, while developing leadership attributes. Both positions are great stepping stones for becoming actively involved in the society at the professional level. It is a also a great opportunity to learn how both the region and national levels work. The RCR is responsible to represent area collegiate members’ interests among national leaders, participate in strategic discussions with the other members of the Council of Representatives, and provide direction to the national Society. The RCCE is responsible for communicating important SWE events and best practices by publishing the region newsletter for collegiate members.

Some of the RCR duties include:

• Communicate to the region leadership as the collegiate member’s voice on the Region Council.
• Attend Regional & Annual Conference
• Facilitate Region Collegiate Meetings
• Maintain constant and consistent contact with Governor and RCR/RCCE Coordinator
• Serve on the Region Collegiate Team
• Provide input to region blog

 

RCCE duties include:

• Communicate to the region leadership as the collegiate member’s voice on the SWE.
• Attend Regional & Annual Conference
• Help facilitate Region Collegiate Meetings
• Maintain constant and consistent contact with Governor and RCR/RCCE Coordinator
• Serve on the Region Collegiate Team
• Maintain the region blog

 

FY10 Election Timeline:

• Call for Applicants: Tuesday, January 20
• Applications Due: Friday, February 8
• Candidates Presented: Monday, March 1
• Voting Begins: Monday, March 1
• Voting Ends: Monday, March 15
• Winners Announced: Monday, April 5

 

Questions? Email your friendly neighborhood RCR (rcr-f@swe.org) and RCCE (rcce-f@swe.org).

Awards and Competitions!

 

As pioneers, innovators, leaders, and mentors, our accomplishments are diverse and our dreams have no limits. We are proud of our members’ many achievements and celebrate them through the SWE Awards Program. 

During the Region F meeting at WE09, we decided one of our goals was going to be having every section apply for at least one award. You can learn everything about the awards and competitions SWE offers on the swe website. Applying for awards is not as hard or as time consuming as you think! The website award only requires that you submit you website url, and I know that several sections in Region F have amazing websites! So do it, do it, do it!

Also, the deadlines have a tendency to sneak up on you because many of them are during the summer, so mark your calendars now, so you remember later.

Individual Awards – DUE MARCH 31, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org, Awards packets will be available to download after Dec 31

• Outstanding Collegiate Member Award 
• Outstanding Faculty Advisor
• Outstanding SWE Counselor

Section Awards – DUE JULY 1, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org

• Communications Awards: Newsletter, Website, Public Relations Program
• Membership Awards: Collegiate Transition, Region Membership, Membership Retention, Membership Recruitment
• Multicultural Awards: Boeing Company Multicultural Award
• Outreach Awards: Event/Series Program, Girl Scout, Corning Incentive
• Professional Development Awards: Program, Event, Series, Media
• SWE History Award

Outstanding Collegiate Section Award – DUE MARCH 31, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org

• Any Collegiate Section attaining the minimum levels of participation will be recognized with a certificate or a plaque.
• Sections chartered or reactivated within the past two years can compete for the Society Outstanding New Collegiate Section

Competitions

• Collegiate Technical Poster Competition – DUE JUNE 15, 2010: emphasizes ability to deliver outstanding visual presentations, questions: postercompetition@swe.org
• Collegiate Technical Poster Competition – DUE JUNE 15, 2010: emphasizes the importance of teamwork and interface with industry in engineering educational process, questions: Terri Morse

 

 

All About Bylaws

Ever taken a look at the Society’s Bylaws? Do you know SWE’s vision? SWE’s tagline? How would describe SWE to someone who has never heard of the organization?

Knowing the Society’s vision and goals can help you formulate goals for your section as well as help you understand how you fit into the bigger picture. If you’ve never looked at the Society’s bylaws, I encourage you to take a glance at them. Below I’ve listed some information about the Society and encourage you to read it over.

SWE’s TagLine: Aspire, Advance, Achieve

SWE’s Mission (Adopted in 1986)

• Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders,
• Expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and
• Demonstrate the value of diversity

SWE’s Objectives (Adopted in 1950)

• Inform young women, their parents, counselors and the general public of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and the opportunities open to them
• Assist women in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirement
• Serve as a center of information on women in engineering
• Encourage women engineers to attain high levels of education and professional achievement

SWE’s Strategic Priorities (The Society’s 3 –5 Year Planning Horizon Strategies)

• Growing the Profession (Outreach): There is an increase in women choosing to enter the engineering and technology profession.
• Professional Excellence: Women in engineering and technology excel professionally, and their achievements are showcased and valued.
• Industry Catalyst: SWE is a catalyst for changing the professional climate to enable women in engineering and technology to excel.
• Inclusive Global Community: Women in Engineering and Technology and SWE stakeholdersfind value in SWE as a diverse, inclusive, global community.

SWE’s Values

• Integrity: We aspire to the highest level of ethical behavior as evidenced by honesty and dignity in our personal and professional relationships and responsibilities.
• Inclusive Environment: We embrace diversityin its broadest interpretation and commit to creating an inclusive environment for all our members and stakeholders. We value the contributions of a diverse membership, which enables SWE to achieve its full potential.
• Mutual Support: We provide an organization that fosters mentoring, and the development of professional and personal networks.
• Professional Excellence: We conduct our activities in a professional manner, demonstrating and demanding the highest standards of business practices.
• Trust: We share a common definition of success, with open, transparent access to common information, building mutual respect and confidence in the competence of those with whom we lead, serve and partner with.

Section Bylaws

Following the revision of the Society’s bylaws a number of years ago, new templates for section (professional and collegiate) bylaws were developed. ALL sections are expected to adopt new bylaws based on the respective template.

Sections are expected to prepare a revision of their bylaws, by using the template and adjusting as appropriate for their section-specific issues within the guidelines of the template and submitting them for review. (A bylaws revision is a complete replacement of the existing bylaws with a new set, rather than processing amendments. The existing bylaws procedure for amendments must be followed in approving the revision.) Although this process appears cumbersome, it offers an opportunity for sections to review their bylaws and ensure that the bylaws really reflect how the section operates. See the powerpoint “Collegiate Section Bylaws Approval Status” for the latest status on approval of collegiate section bylaws.

You can also download a copy of the Collegiate Section Bylaws Template here: Collegiate Section Bylaws Template.

First Quarterly Report Due Tuesday!

Reminder!!!

Section presidents, your first quarterly report is due Tuesday, August 25th!

I realize that we’re all getting ready to go back to school, but please download and fill out this quarterly report template. For the first quarterly report, please include your section’s leadership roster, goals for the upcoming year, and your section’s contact info/swe email and website address.

Best wishes from your RCR,

Rachael

FY09 Annual and Financial Reports

Quick reminder for section presidents regarding this year’s annual and financial reports!

Both of these are really important to fill out – you receive a $4 for every paid member if both are submitted and you are kept up to date with section president related information from SWE HQ.

Check here to see what reports we have received from your school. If you have submitted your reports but they’re listed as having not been received, please email me and let me know!

If you have not filed either/both of these reports, please do so soon! The forms can be found online at the links below and are easy to fill out.

• Annual Report Form
• Financial Report (Less than $10K)
• Financial Report (Greater than $10K)

Best wishes from your RCR,

Rachael

National Resources [HT]

You may be wondering what SWE does as a National organization? Why should you pay $20 a year to be a SWE member when you’re just involved in your section? Well, SWE has a lot of power, respect, and resources as a National Organization, more than you can imagine. Did you know SWE was founded nearly 60 years ago, in 1950? It’s a huge network of women engineers focused on making engineering a desirable career for women through outreach, awards and recognition, scholarships, training, Conferences, webinars on everything you could imagine, and an online career center.

I’m writing this post from the SWE National Conference in Baltimore. The SWE National Conference is every year around November, and more than 5000 SWE members attend. It’s amazing to see so many female engineers and have an opportunity to get to know them and their stories. There is also a huge career fair of companies who are excited to interview and hire you for summer internships or jobs after graduation. You can attend sessions on leadership, technology, and outreach, take tours of nearby companies, and attend meetings where you can learn about this amazing organization. You can also get to know your RCR’s, RCNE’s, and hear the SWE President speak. You get a much better feel for how SWE works as a national organization.

Be sure to explore SWE Communities, SWE Outreach, SWE Outreach, and our Region’s website.

Thanks, and have a great semester!
-Katie

Making the Most of SWE Resources [HT]

Hi everyone!

I’ll be writing about how to make the most of SWE Resources. We’re all incredibly busy, which is why SWE has a lot of programs and resources in place to make it easier for you as individuals and sections to get what you want out of SWE.

• SWE Communities: http://communities.swe.org/COP/Public  SWE is happy to announce SWE Communities, a new, cohesive way to help you accomplish all your SWE needs: hearing about what’s going on in SWE, networking, and a great way to get involved in different SWE communities. Log in with your membership login and look around! Join as many communities as you’re interested in!
• Resources for Outreach Events: http://www.swe.org/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=115 This is a great resource for helping to plan Outreach Activities!
• SWE Scholarships: http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=230&Itemid=128 SWE offers scholarships for students in most any engineering or computer science major. Look around, see what you can find!
• E-mails from SWE News, your RCR, and your Region Governor: It can be tempting to skip another e-mail in your inbox, but we do our best to make these e-mails as to the point and useful for you as possible. It’s the easiest way to stay in the know about what’s going on that affects you!
• Collegiate Leadership Coaches: e-mail Darlene Yerdon- dyerdon at us dot ibm dot com, the head Collegiate Leadership Coach, to set up modules on everything from leadership to outreach to help your section out. They’ll bring food, too!

Hope this helps! And, as always, e-mail Sharon Vuong, your RCR, or myself, Katie Miller your RCNE, at rcr-f@swe.org and rcne-f@swe.org with any questions!

Hope your semesters are going well,

Katie Miller

RCNE Region F