The Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE) is a long-term, multi-site research project examining the climate in undergraduate engineering programs with a focus on persistence and retention. PACE is currently funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The PACE mixed methods study includes qualitative research in the form of interviews and focus groups with students and quantitative research via an online climate survey (conducted in 2008 and 2012). PACE is headquartered at the Center for Workforce Development at the University of Washington.

This talk will provide an overview of the PACE study components, discuss some of the overarching themes from the research that has been conducted, and share some Purdue-specific results in the context of the other PACE schools. PACE results have been shared via over 24 journal articles, professional presentations, conference proceedings, newsletters, and magazines.  Thus, this presentation will only focus on a small subset of those publications.

Elizabeth Litzler, Ph.D., is the Director for Research at the University of Washington (UW) Center for Workforce Development (CWD) and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in UW Sociology. Liz is the research manager for the Sloan-funded Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE). She also directs the external evaluation for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and NCWIT-Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs. In addition to her leadership in the office, Liz is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and a Board Member of Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN). She earned a PhD and MA in Sociology and a BA in Communication with minors in Spanish and Women's Studies. Her research interests include the educational climate for students in science and engineering and gender and race stratification in education and the workforce.