According to a survey conducted by a national organization of university faculty members, female professors made up 34 percent of faculty members in the United States for the 1997-98 school year.

For its annual survey, The American Association of University Professors gathered data from nearly 2,500 public and private college administrators with a 75 percent response rate.

At Iowa State, the percentage of female faculty members is below the national average.

According to the ISU Fact Book, in 1998, nearly 29 percent of ISU professors were female. In 1997, women made up 28 percent of faculty members.

Kathleen Hickock, associate professor of English, said since ISU is geared toward science and technology, it has more male faculty members.

“The science and technology field is predominantly filled by men,” she said.

Hickock and others offered explanations for the gender disparity and suggestions for improving it.

Hickock said ISU could bring in more professors by placing women on search committees and making ISU a “welcoming place for women” by offering child care and maternity leave.

Making sure there is at least one female in the applicant pool for professor positions is another way ISU can move toward equality, she said.

Although she did not feel ISU discriminated against women, she said the university was not going “out of its way” to hire women.

Judy Vance, professor of mechanical engineering, said the engineering department is making a concerted effort to recruit women professors.

Vance said since many companies are looking to hire women for top positions, many recent graduates leave academia.

“The College of Engineering is making an effort to find female professors, but because the job market is so good for women engineers, they often don’t go on to get their Ph.Ds.,” she said.

Although she would like to see an increase in women engineering professors, Vance said there are not many female applicants.

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, said women are taking on roles other than professor within the university.

“We have brought in a lot of good women instructors, teacher assistants and directors,” she said.

According to The American Association of Professors survey, in 1997-98, women represented nearly 56 percent of lecturers, 59 percent of instructors and 47 percent of assistant professors nationally.