WiSE receives Insight Into Academia Magazine’s 2025 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award
Students at the Spring 2025 Campus Day
By Elizabeth Egan
Published June 24, 2025
The University at Buffalo’s Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) received the 2025 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight Into Academia Magazine, the largest and oldest academic excellence and belonging publication in higher education.
The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award is a measure of an institution’s individual programs and initiatives that encourage and support the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented students into all STEM fields. The award recognizes programs that focus on K-12 recruitments, mentorship, career opportunities, community and corporate partnerships and more.
WiSE was selected for the WiSE STEM Outreach Program, and will be featured along with 51 other recipients in the June 2025 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine.
“I am thrilled that WiSE is being recognized for our STEM outreach program,” said Sarah Baillie, WiSE program director. “The program stands out for the opportunities it provides for high school students to be connected with a mentor whom they can trust and ask questions to, as well as providing opportunities for them to come to campus and learn about what it looks like to be involved with STEM at UB.”
The WiSE STEM Outreach program launched in 2022 to connect student mentors from UB with students from local high schools for an eight-week mentorship program. This year, the program had 60 high school mentees and 20 UB student mentors.
During the fall semester, UB students visit the participating high schools to share their experiences in STEM education in a large group setting. After that, each school selects a group of students to continue with the program and they are connected with UB mentors for weekly small group mentoring sessions.
In the final week, the mentees are invited to campus for a day of hands-on activities, a tour of UB’s North Campus and other activities for them to experience what it is like to be a college student. In the spring, the students are invited back to campus for a follow-up visit, where they get to choose different tours, presentations and activities based on their specific interests, to help them think about choosing a STEM program to pursue in college.
“We know that STEM programs are not always recognized for their dedication to access and belonging,” said Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine. “We are proud to honor these college, university, and industry STEM programs as role models for other institutions of higher education.”