When Julia Curd's computer science professor accused her of coercing a male student into writing her computer program, she felt angry and powerless.

She had attended every class and gone to office hours for help on the project.

Curd (senior-psychology), one of many women students who express concern about the University's classroom climate, said a small presence of faculty members and a male-dominated curriculum create an alienating atmosphere.

"Overall my courses have been from the white male perspective, and in history courses the roles of women, blacks and minorities have been ignored," she said.

While the number of women employees at the University increased 5.8 percent last year, women represent 19 percent of the faculty, according to the Office of Affirmative Action. University statistics, which lag slightly behind national figures, compare poorly with schools of similar size, said Michael Johnson, associate professor of sociology.

Because so few women exist in non-traditional fields, women students in those fields often feel socially isolated, Michelle Szpara (sophomore-chemistry) said. In non-traditional majors such as chemistry and engineering, women students can expect to see as few as 13 percent women students and 2.6 percent women faculty.

With only two women engineering professors during four years, Kelly Wagner (senior-civil engineering) said she learned to branch out to other women in the major.

Wagner, who said she was often the only woman in her engineering courses, joined the Society of Women Engineers during her freshman year to meet other women students. The society created a big sister/little sister program so freshman women could meet other women in the major, said Wagner, now president of the society. She said her involvement in the society has helped her become more confident.

While women represent 52 percent of undergraduate students enrolled in four-year institutions nationally, at the University, women students make up 45 percent, according to fall 1989 official enrollment. However, women students remain concentrated in traditional majors such as education, the arts, and the social sciences.

Because women compose such a small proportion of the faculty and administration, women student's concerns may be invisible, said Amanda Huber (senior-psychology). A more diverse faculty and administration would better reflect the needs of the students, Huber said.

A male-dominated curriculum reflects the male-dominated faculty, she said. Often those professors are unaware that their curriculums can be diversified, Huber said. When she confronted her environmental issues professor about his male-dominated curriculum, the professor agreed to include women authors.

In addition to a white-male dominated curriculum, science text book language such as "men in this field" and "gentlemen" overlooks women students, said Wagner.

To integrate the science and math curriculums, professors could focus on science's social nature rather than its factual one, said Sharon M. Jadrnak, director of the Women in Engineering Program in the Department of Engineering.

For example, instead of memorizing DNA structure, students could learn how Rosalind Franklin developed photographs which led to the determination of DNA structure.

The November 1986 Report of the Strategic Study Group on the Status of Women compared Penn State's women faculty percentages with 10 institutions of similar size.

Penn State's 6.1 percentage of women professors ranks behind the University of Wisconsin's 9.7 percentage, the University of Michigan's 7.9 percentage and North Carolina's 6.1 percentage.

For associate professors, the University places last of the 11 institutions, and tenth for assistant professors.

The University is committed to increasing employment and promotion of women faculty and staff, said Juanita Haddad, assistant affirmative action officer.

Gaining support from students, faculty and the administration, this spring the Women's Studies program will submit a proposal to the Curricular Affairs Committee and the University Faculty Senate for an undergraduate major and a graduate minor, said Lynne Goodstein, director of the program.

"I think that students are beginning to understand how relevant women's studies are and the faculty and administration are also recognizing the value of the field," Goodstein said.

To increase cultural awareness, the University Faculty Senate is debating a proposal for mandatory diversity requirements. If adopted, students would have to take either a three-credit, diversity-focused course or four three-credit diversity-enhanced courses, said George Bugyi, executive secretary of the University Faculty Senate.

The focused course would examine racial, gender, ethnic or global perspectives while the enhanced course would devote 25 percent of class time to those issues.

But keeping women's and minority history separate from the curriculum would prevent women and minorities from becoming full members of society, said Huber.

Felicia Smith (senior-general arts and sciences), who works on the Academic Diversity Awareness Project through the Women's Studies Program, said she has confronted some professors about their white, male-dominated curriculum.

For example, when she took a Chinese art history course that focused on male artistic achievements, she visited the Women's Museum in Washington, D.C. and found sources of Chinese women artists.

However, when she asked the professor to consider those sources, the professor assumed they were not good enough without looking at their work, Smith said.

A comparative literature course including African, Egyptian and Asian authors that Smith took, provided a holistic curriculum, she said.

"She (the instructor) was very good at getting a good mix of authors," Smith said. "I wish that all classes were like that."