The College of Engineering, Bogue said, realizes the need for more women and minority faculty members.

"Women and minorities are seen as a value and there are many efforts to diversify the faculty," she said.

Correcting the situation, however, is not a simple task.

"If the faculty is overwhelmingly male, women may decide it's not a comfortable environment," Bogue said. "Maybe they can't picture themselves there or holding positions."

Salary, too, is an important factor, especially when a woman is well qualified for various jobs, Bogue said.

"If someone graduates with a Ph.D., which is a requirement for most research positions, a lot of other people want them, as well," she said. "Universities compete with the industry, government, government laboratories, as well as other universities. And industry jobs have a higher pay."

The concern with whether or not starting a family will interfere with earning tenure may be on the minds of women.

"The final decision is made by the department, but we generally allow for time off for personal situations, pregnancy, and illness of family members," she said.

Jennifer Jolley (senior-industrial engineering) said Nelson's study is accurate.

"I agree, definitely," she said. "But it's more so minority women than women professors. I think I've had two women teachers and the rest were all men. And I never had a black professor ever in any of my science engineering classes."

Carla Cardenas (junior-industrial engineering) said it is difficult to find women engineers, especially minorities.

"It's not just being a woman, it's being a minority at the same time," she said. "In my engineering classes, there are very few women and if you're looking for minorities, it's very hard to find. Being a woman and a minority as far as ethnicity is like being a double minority."

There is not a large enrollment of black students in the College of Engineering, Jolley said.

"There is a small percentage of black people, but it helps because I'm part of the National Society of Black Engineers," she said. "There's very few of us, but you can meet others that are not in your classes and it's great to have someone to identify with."

Cardenas is also part of many engineering groups that promote diversity.

"I feel [the College of Engineering] is doing a good job, but not many know about it," she said.

To improve the situation, Jolley said Penn State should recruit women or minority professors.

"I think they should go after a more diverse atmosphere and break the mold of a traditional engineering professor," she said. "They should make the faculty represent the diversity of the students because it doesn't happen."

Students also need women role models to motivate them, Cardenas said.

"Maybe stereotypes that women and minority engineers might not make it exist or [women] may take basic [engineering] classes and give up. It's a social thing, I think," she said.