2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In higher education, women's universities have notoriously provided a utopia for women college students to thrive (Alvarez,1995a). Specifically, women students feel at liberty to exercise their intelligence alongside their female counterparts (Tidball, 1980). Even more so, women undergraduate students have often regarded their academic programs to be stronger than women at coeducational colleges and universities (Tidball, 1980). This correlates with the increased representation of women faculty and the overall supportive mentality and collaborative environment fostered within a women's college. However, what has yet to be explored is the overall impact of women undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specifically those who are members of an underrepresented minority group (URM), their identities, and the contributions to the campus climate towards racial diversity. Within the United States, most women’s colleges qualify as predominantly white institutions (PWI). Thus, women of color (WOC) who attend these institutions are situated in a space where they are not the majority, and their culture is not central. Consequently, they must conform (Collins et al., 2020) to the norms. Furthermore, WOC who attend women's colleges and pursue STEM-related degrees are not only situated in a predominantly white campus climate but in a field that lacks cultural and racial diversity (Collins et al., 2020). Using a case study analysis, the purpose of this study is to examine the mis/alignment of student needs and faculty perceptions at a women's college and a small university located in an urban city in the northeastern United States. In order to encapsulate and validate the issues of broadened participation, racial equity and cultural diversity through the combination of student experiences of the campus climate and faculty perception, a combination of student interviews and focus groups formed our data collection methods. Evidence shows the existence of an inherent disconnect between faculty perceptions and students' needs and the campus and curricular experiences of students. Premised on the ground that these contextual influences bi-directionally interact. The study demonstrates that STEM fields can leverage the utopia of women's universities to broaden their participation in STEM beyond gender while incorporating racial equity and cultural diversity when shaping an inclusive campus climate. The full paper will (1) describe the relationship between campus climate and STEM culture perceptions (2) demonstrate the influence of modern women’s universities in supporting women in STEM (3) examine the intersectional oppressions that women of color experience in STEM.