From left to right: Tirajeh Mazaheri, MECH student and Goldcorp Intern, Applied Science Dean Marc Parlange; Florence Belanger, Goldcorp Intern; Jaime Awmack, UBC alumna (BASc/BA ‘07) and Process Engineer at Goldcorp; Sheryl Staub-French, Goldcorp Professor in Women in Engineering at UBC; Beverley Briscoe, UBC alumna (BComm ‘77), Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, Goldcorp and President, Briscoe Management Ltd; Professor Elizabeth Croft, Associate Dean, Education and Professional Development, Faculty of Applied Science, UBC; Paul Farrow, Senior VP, People and Safety, Goldcorp./ Photo: Don Erhardt
VANCOUVER – The Faculty of Applied Science announces Dr. Sheryl Staub-French, associate professor in civil engineering, as the inaugural holder of the Goldcorp Professorship in Women in Engineering at UBC.
As Goldcorp Professor, Dr. Staub-French will lead a targeted recruitment strategy for UBC Engineering that plans to increase the number of women enrolled in its programs from the national average of 20 per cent to close to 50 per cent by 2019.
As Engineers Canada predicts a skills shortage of almost 100,000 engineers by 2020, and engineering remains one of the last professions to see underrepresentation of women, introducing young women to the career option is essential to filling the workforce gap.
“If a significant part of the talent pool isn’t even considering it as a career, you’re missing out on some of the best and brightest,” says Staub-French. “Part of our work is to help address that skills gap by encouraging young women to explore career possibilities in engineering and science.”