Provost Terry Parker with gathering of Florida Poly faculty and staff inside the Polk County Neil Combee Administration Building in Bartow, Florida for the proclamation signing.
Florida Polytechnic University has received a proclamation from the Polk County Board of County Commissioners designating March 14, 2017 as “Florida Polytechnic University Women in STEM Day.” On that date, the university will host its second annual Women in STEM Summit, which aims to foster alignment, partnership and collaboration among university scholars and industry leaders. 
The proclamation was read during the Polk County Commission meeting in Bartow on Tuesday. Florida Poly Provost Dr. Terry Parker accepted the proclamation on behalf of the university, along with more than a dozen other Florida Poly faculty and staff.
“Diversity in all forms – demographic, cultural, philosophical – is important to building a strong academic community,” said Dr. Parker. “Nationwide, it seems especially hard to find diversity in STEM, but through programs like the Women in STEM Summit, Florida Poly hopes to inspire more students of all backgrounds to consider opportunities in these innovative fields.”
STEM stands for “science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” In 2015, women earned approximately 20 percent of all bachelor’s degrees conferred in engineering, and 16 percent of those in computer science, according to federal data. Florida Poly’s current degree programs focus exclusively on the core STEM subjects of technology and engineering.
Florida Poly’s Women in STEM Summit will give students, faculty and industry leaders the chance to network, develop mentorship opportunities and learn from the experience of several accomplished speakers. The event’s keynote is Karen Catlin, former Vice-President at Adobe Systems, who now advocates for women in technology. The event will also include a panel conversation with men and women who have overcome barriers to find success in STEM industries.
For more information about Florida Poly’s second annual Women in STEM Summit, click here.
