Experience is widely recognized as one of life’s most effective teachers, and organizers of the upcoming 2025 Susan M. Arseven ’75 Conference for Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) guarantee multiple opportunities to learn from some of the best within the STEM professions and Aggieland this month on the Texas A&M campus.
Registration is open for the popular annual WISE Conference, which is celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year and set to be presented Saturday, Feb. 22, in Room 2400 of the Memorial Student Center. This year’s theme, Breaking Boundaries: Pushing the Limits of STEM Exploration, focuses on recognizing achievements in science and engineering as well as inspiring the next generation to overcome barriers and make similar contributions to their respective fields.
The event will feature a day of common ground, conversation and inspiration among friends in a series of interactive presentations featuring speakers who will share their insights gained along the journey from diploma to career and all points in between. Topics include unconventional STEM careers, creating non-toxic environments, journeys of growth and leadership, and much more.
The daylong conference (see schedule), annually organized and hosted by Texas A&M Arts and Sciences Outreach & Engagement, will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Fuhui Tong, Associate Provost and Dean of the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School as well as a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. Tong joined the faculty in 2007 after earning her Ph.D. in educational psychology from Texas A&M in 2006. Beyond providing strategic, scholarly and financial leadership for the campus while strengthening the university’s research identity and enhancing graduate and professional school programs, she also has co-directed an $80 million Texas A&M University System-approved research center.
The complete list of speakers features an exclusively Texas A&M-affiliated slate, including professors of all ranks and administrators representing the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences as well as the School of Public Health.
The conference is named in honor of the late Dr. Susan M. Arseven ’75, one of the leading strategists in information technology during a career spanning several disciplines and a pioneering example of Aggie leadership. Thanks to generous funding from a permanent endowment established more than two decades ago in support of the conference on its 10th anniversary in 2002 through the Texas A&M Foundation by Arseven’s husband, biostatistician and 1974 Texas A&M statistics Ph.D. graduate Dr. Ersen Arseven, the event also showcases the Susan M. Arseven Make-A-Difference Memorial Award — two $1,000 awards presented to graduate students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in science, engineering or technology as part of the conference.
The conference registration fee is $50 ($35 for students) and includes a pre-conference reception on Friday, Feb. 21, at Benjamin Knox Gallery and a conference swag bag. Participants are encouraged to register online before the Feb. 20 deadline. Interested parties are encouraged to check with their respective academic departments, several of which traditionally have covered registration fees in previous years.
Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) at Texas A&M is a university-recognized organization of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty and staff from various science and engineering backgrounds. The group was created to address specific problems faced by women in non-traditional fields.
For more information about the conference or other outreach and engagement events and programs within the College of Arts and Sciences, visit artscioutreach.tamu.edu.