Background and Planning

1996 - A committee was formed on MTSU's campus with community partners (the American Association of University Women (Murfreesboro Branch), Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, and the Nashville Section of the American Chemical Society), to bring the first Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Conference to Tennessee. EYH encourages young women in grades 5-12 to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

November 1999 - The MTSU EYH was recognized by THEC with the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award.

2001 - MTSU received a planning grant ($30,000), the Middle Tennessee State University Women in SMET Undergraduate Programs (WISUP), from the National Science Foundation.

Fall 2002 - The MTSU WISE Living and Learning (Residence Hall) Community was formed along with the MTSU WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) student organization.

Fall 2007 - The first EYH for high school girls was held under the direction of the NSF-funded Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (GRITS) program.

In addition to the organizations and activities mentioned above, there are several other organizations and programs on the MTSU campus and in the community that support girls and women in STEM. Following the philosophy of the GRITS Collaborative, programs, resources, groups, and other centers that support women in STEM will be invited to collaborate with the WISTEM Center.