Betty A. Shanahan
NIU’s PROMISE Scholars will host a technology and science talk by Betty A. Shanahan from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Room 354 of the Engineering Building.
Pizza and refreshments will be served. The event is open to all.
Shanahan’s talk, “Authentic Women & Effective Engineers … Create the Future,” will focus on the value of diversity to innovation.
The executive director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) will share secrets to success in college that include perspectives on women’s self-efficacy, gender, imposter syndrome and the SWE’s retention study.
Shanahan spent 24 years in development, engineering management and marketing for several electronic and software industries.
Her first professional position began at Data General, where she worked on the Eagle minicomputer design project captured in Tracy Kidder’s “The Soul of a New Machine.” She continued to diversify her career experiences, which included the parallel processing minicomputer and manager of hardware design, technology marketing management, and product management and marketing in software components.
Prior to assuming her position at SWE, she was vice president of product management and marketing for the Software Components Division of Stellant Inc.
Shanahan earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Michigan State University, a master of software engineering from Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, and an MBA in strategic management from the University of Chicago Graduate School Of Business. She participates in forums and on committees to advance the engineering profession including the National Academy of Engineering, the Alumni Board of Michigan State University College of Engineering, Clemson University College of Engineering and Science Advisory Board, and presiding as the vice president of Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives.
Shanahan was the first women to receive the Claude R. Erickson Distinguished Alumnus Award from Michigan State University.
The NIU PROMISE Scholars Program is a campus-wide initiative for new freshmen and sophomore students enrolled in a STEM major or undecided about their major choice.
For more information, call (815) 753-9222 or email PROMISE_Scholars@niu.edu.
