An ISU alumna has brought her real-life and academic experience to help women in science and engineering majors at Iowa State.

Karen Zunkel, the new manager of the Program for Women in Science and Engineering, assumed her responsibilities as director Jan. 7, after the retirement of the program’s Founder Mary Ann Evans in December.

Zunkel, who worked for Lucent Technologies and AT&T as both a product engineer and a sales engineer, came to Iowa State as an instructor 11 years ago. Since 1996, she has worked as the manager for engineering undergraduate programs, she said.

Zunkel received her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State in 1983 and her master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1989. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State, she said.

“Karen has a wealth of experience related to women’s issues of success in engineering and student affairs at Iowa State,” said Howard Shapiro, vice provost for undergraduate programs.

Zunkel said she is excited to tackle her first semester at the helm of the program.

“This is a great opportunity to work with a program I feel strongly about,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to try new things.”

The Program for Women in Science and Engineering provides community outreach and on-campus programs to promote participation of women in science, engineering and technology related careers, she said.

One of the outreach programs is “The Road Less Traveled,” a career-exploration conference for girls in grades 6-12. Last year’s attendance was about 3,000.

The program also coordinates ISU student visits to schools around the state to demonstrate how concepts of science and engineering are used in everyday life.

Zunkel said she hasn’t planned any changes to programs and services thus far.

“We are evaluating our programs to see if the needs of students and our goals of enrollment are being met,” she said.