IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2020 - 8

ty, equity, and inclusion in the college,"
population, snow leopards are diffi-
she explains.
cult to study because they are very
Miguel is also working with other
shy animals and live high up in the
mountains. Instead, the conservation
faculty members on a National Science
biologists who study them install cam-
Foundation ADVANCE Institutional
eras to take images of what-
Transformation Grant that has
ever passes in front and
the potential to be truly
then spend a long time
transformative. "While
"It is very
sorting through the
often times grants are
satisfying when
photos to identify
enabling academic
the leopards. "As
research-which
you can volunteer
you can imagine,
can, by default, sug-
your time and improve
this is very tedious
gest someone spend
organizations, but what less
to do m a nu a lly,
time in service
I love most is learning
especially because
or leadership posi-
from others."
each image identifi-
tions-we are looking
cation has to be done
at how to change the
by two biologists to be
guidelines for promotion to
sure there are no mistakes,"
instead account for that time,"
says Miguel. "To help, my students and
says Miguel. "Service and leadership are
I are working on algorithms to sort the
so important to the survival of universities
images and identify the cats. It's very
and, traditionally, women and URM faculty
motivating and interesting and aligns
engage in them more than other popula-
with the vision of Seattle University to
tions. So to attempt to advance equality
be of service to society."
in academia by telling faculty to focus on
Additionally, Miguel is leading a Boe-
research in order to make it to full profes-
sor, is something that should change."
ing-sponsored project aimed at creat-
"This is very pioneering work that we
ing a more supportive environment for
are doing," she continues. "It's interest-
women and underrepresented minority
ing and new in terms of faculty develop-
(URM) engineering and computer sci-
ment and standards of promotion."
ence students in the College of Science
Miguel also serves as a leader in the
and Engineering at Seattle University.
wider engineering community; she is
"We do initiatives such as diversity and
a Member of the IEEE, the Society of
inclusion seminars, bystander interven-
Women Engineers, and the Women in
tion workshops, summer orientation
Engineering ProActive Network and
events to create communities among
holds leadership positions with the
incoming students, and other activities
American Society for Engineering Edu-
to initiate conversations about diversi-

cation (ASEE) and the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department
Heads Association (ECEDHA). Within
the ASEE, Miguel sits on the Board of
Directors, the Board of Directors Exec-
utive Committee, and is also the vice
president for external relations. "It is
very satisfying when you can volunteer
your time and improve organizations,
but what I love most is learning from
others," she shares. "I get to meet people
from so many different areas, institu-
tions, and geographical locations. I have
created what I call my village, or my
tribe, and have a wonderful network of
people I can call on anytime."
This includes a network of depart-
ment heads, whom she connected with
via ECEDHA, where she also is on the
Board of Directors and chairs the Diver-
sity Committee. One of Miguel's standout
roles with ECEDHA has been the growth
of the Improving the Diversity of Faculty
in Electrical and Computer Engineer-
ing (iREDEFINE) program, which is a
workshop for graduate women and URM
students interested in pursuing faculty
positions. Started by Athina Petropulu
from Rutgers University, Miguel took over
the program in its third year, applied for a
second grant, and organized the 2019 and
2020 sessions, which occur during the
March ECEDHA annual conference.
"The program grew; there has been
more interest from department heads,
women, and underrepresented Ph.D. stu-
dents in participating," describes Miguel.
The 2020 workshop reflected the feed-
back received in 2019; for example, Miguel
shares that students particularly liked a
long session that offered feedback on cur-
riculum vitaes and interview skills, so that
was included again this year. There was
also a suggestion after 2019 that the pro-
gram include more time for the students
to connect with one another, so network-
ing time was increased in 2020.

Promoting Diversity

Miguel with students in one of Seattle University's teaching labs.

8

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2020	

Programs like iREDEFINE will continue
to provide an impact because, says Miguel,
"it is important to have diverse faculty,
not just gender, but all types of diversity,
because this is how you ensure that you
have different perspectives and ideas in
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2020

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