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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1988)
Monday, January 25, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local ngineering forum tries By Jamie Russell Staff Writer ■The number of women pursuing caieers in engineering has dropped each year since 1982, Jeanne Rier- son, A&M’s administrative assistant olengineering, said. HBui il the 375 Texas high school students who attended an engi neering conference Friday evening in Rudder Tower have anything to slv about that, the figures might cpange. ■ The conference was sponsored by the Texas A&M chapter of the So- cict v of Women Engineers. ■ Last semester the engineering de- Hirtment at A&M had an under graduate enrollment of 8,023 stu- mt nts, with 1,240 of those students ^King women — 15.5 percent. I In comparison, in Fall 1982 there were 9,810 students in engineering w th 1,854 of those being women, or 18.9 percent. ■ “There has been a national de- Hine of about 0.5 percent per year in female engineering enrollment,” ^person said. “There is a national concern because of that.” Undergraduate Engineering Enrollment Total: 9,816 Fall 1982 Total: 8,023 Fall 1987 A 1986 College Placement Coun cil survey of 33,000 graduating se niors indicated that 49 percent of the jobs offered went to engineering students and that the starting salary average was $28,000. Dr. Robert D. Chenowe.th, assis tant dean of engineering, said in a conference welcome speech that A&M engineers with a bachelor of Graphic by Susan C. Akin science degree received about $29,000 as a starting salary last year. But only about 3 percent of the nation’s engineers are women. Melanie Saltier, president of SWE at A&M, said engineering students must take charge of their futures. “Engineer your own horizons,” Saltier said. Saltier told the prospective A&M to recruit more women Photo by Jay Janner Dr. Robert D. Chenoweth, assistant dean of engineering, addresses the declining number of female engineers. engineering students about what A&M has to offer, not only in engi neering, but as a world-class univer sity. “Texas A&M has one of the best engineering colleges in the nation,” Saltier said. Chenoweth said students must be prepared for the challenges of engi neering. “Engineering, as in any profes sion, requires a commitment, re quires sacrifice,” Chenoweth said. An engineering student must be able to deal with math, physics, chemistry, biology and English. But the compensation that comes from engineering is immeasurable, he said. “The opportunities are not the to tal number of jobs out there, but it is the opportunity for development,” Chenoweth said. Engineering is a life-long educa tion with a wide range of opportuni ties, he said. “It is that wide range that sells me on engineering,” Chenoweth said. “Opportunities in the type of work are all the way from field engi neering — where you get down and grubby and have your hands right in it — to management level, to plan ning level,” Chenoweth said. The conference is held to intro duce the beginning college student to the extensive field of engineering, said Dr. Richard Thornton, associate department head of mechanical en gineering and faculty advisor of SWE. “The conference does well and is very productive.” he said. Colorado plane crash kills Aggie By Richard Williams Senior Staff Writer A May 1980 Texas A&M grad uate was among those killed in a commuter airplane crash Tues day night in Colorado. Lee Ann Larson Vollmer, 25, of Longmont, Colo., died Wednesday morning from head injuries received in the crash, according to a spokesman for Mercy Medical Center in Du rango, Colo. Vollmer, who received her de gree in agronomy, was nomi nated for a Rhodes Scholarship in 1985. She was a member of the Soil Conservation Society and the Agronomy Society. Vollmer was employed by Farmland Industries as a market ing specialist and was flying to Denver for a meeting. A spokes man for Farmland Industries said Vollmer usually drove to her apointments across the state, but time constraints resulted in her decision to fly to the meeting. The accident killed nine; eight others survived the crash. The Associated Press reported Thursday that an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board said the plane hit a snow-covered ridge and then slid 200 yards before it came to rest in an upright position. The Associated Press also re ported the investigator would not speculate on a possible cause but said investigators would look into factors such as possible mechani cal failure, pilot experience and the weather. There was light snowfall in the region at the time of the accident. The plane that crashed was owned by Colorado Springs- based Trans Colorado, which leases planes and crews to Rocky Mountain Airways, a continental subsidiary that flies under the name of Continental Express. Funeral services for Vollmer were held Saturday. Vollmer is survived by her hus band, Kevin Vollmer, from Long mont, Colo, and her parents, Dean and Sandy Larson, from Evergreen, Colo. Kevin Vollmer said donations in her memory can be sent to the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Attention: Lee Ann Larson Vol lmer Fund, 1800 Emerson Street, Denver, Colo. 80218. Kevin Vollmer also said a scholarship fund will be set up at A&M in his wife’s memory. Police officer shot to death while on routine traffic stop DALLAS (AP) — A police officer pleaded for his life as a homeless man took his gun during a routine traffic stop and shot him to death, with some onlookers encouraging the gunman, authorities said. Officer John Chase, 25, who last month switched from an evening to a day shift to spend more time with his wife, was shot shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday before a crowd of about 30 people, some of whom urged Chase’s killer to shoot, wit nesses said. The suspect in the shooting, 34- year-old Carl Dudley Williams, was shot by off-duty police officers who responded to the call. The man died a few hours later at Parkland Memo rial Hospital, police said Chase pleaded for his life before he was shot, Police Chief Billy Prince said at a news conference. Witnesses indicated some people in the crowd watching the incident urged the sus pect to shoot the officer, the chief said. “The officer was saying ‘Don’t shoot me. I’ll help you whatever way I can.’ But the guy shot him in the head,”’ witness Melitha Johnson said. Investigators said they knew of no motive for the Saturday shooting, but Prince and some of his officers blamed recent criticism of the de partment by some city council mem bers for creating a dangerous envi ronment for police. “This is very tough on the officer on the street,” Prince said. “Constant bashing” of the police department had created a volatile situation, he said. Williams, described as a street person with a history of mental ill ness, began arguing with Chase, who was preparing to give a traffic ticket to the driver of a vehicle he had pulled over, police spokesman Vicki Hawkins said. Williams, who didn’t know the driver of the car, began fighting with the officer and took his .44-caliber Magnum gun, Hawkins said. After the shooting, witnesses said Williams strolled down the street, dangling the gun from his hand. liina pAV louse. r thev ® ; | i here. jsband' diente Husbai 11 deW-v^- s is stilill es ha'ti' ces. BrI ter, liei 11 “runnifejl thing ill bate. ^ >e nice i ;- ’ r sho»' The Best of the East. The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society presents the Tokyo String Quartet at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, January 28, 1988 in Rudder Auditoriu m. Annually touring the music capitals of the world, critics from San Francisco to Salzburg rank the Tokyo String Quartet among the finest ensembles in the world. Each a master soloist in his own right, these four musicians perform chamber music masterpieces . with the balance and intonation the composers intended. There are still a few good seats available for this remarkable performance. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. MSC Box Office • 845-1234 • Dillards Ticketron VISA and MasterCard accepted. ^ Memorial Student Center • Texas A6(M University • Box J1 • College Station TX 77844-9081 ,c-'\ c C S ^ CP’