Jan Fertig, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- Milwaukee WI UNITED STATES
- Grohmann Museum: GM215
- Humanities, Social Science and Communication
Dr. Jan Fertig focuses on social psychology, behavioral health, addiction and sociology.
Education, Licensure and Certification
Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Social Psychology
University of Nevada, Reno
2002
B.A.
Psychology
Southern Oregon State University
1988
Social and Behavioral Research: Basic Course, Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative)
2018
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Karl O. Werwath Applied Research Award Nominee
Fall 2021
Falk Teaching Award Nominee
2009
MSOE
A.A.U.W. Senior Woman Recognition Nominee
1988
Southern Oregon State University
Affiliations
- American Sociological Association (ASA) : Member
- Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin : Member
- International Coalition for Addiction Studies Education : Member
- National Council for Behavioral Health : Member
- NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals : Member
Social
Event and Speaking Appearances
STEMpathy Study on Persistence in Mechanical Engineering
STEMpathy Study on Persistence in Mechanical Engineering, 2020
Gender Issues in Engineering Education
MSOE, 2018
Community Health Model of Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Abuse
Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, 2018
Team Science Basics
Component and Module Leaders Meeting, Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, 2018
Process Addiction as Emotional Regulation
Annual Conference of NAADAC, Association for Addiction Professionals: Minneapolis, MN, 2017
Operation Opioid
MSOE, 2018
Research Grants
Co-Principal Investigator: S-STEM: Scholarships to Support Retention, Academic Success, and Career Pathways in Mechanical Engineering
National Science Foundation Award no. 2027632
Fall 2021
Launched Research Program: Gender Issues in Engineering Education
Professional Summer Development Grant, MSOE
Summer 2018
Selected Publications
IMECE2021-70862 Enhancing University Persistence of Diverse Mechanical Engineering Students
ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Volume 9: Engineering EducationFertig, J.L. and Kumpaty, S.K.
January 25, 2022
This paper is the third in a series of efforts to address the troublesome departure of promising college students, most notably women and minorities, from the field of mechanical engineering and similar disciplines. Despite widespread and largely successful efforts to increase the numbers of women and minorities in engineering education, their numbers continue to shrink at a time when they should be expanding. Our first inquiry (IMECE 2017-72597) proposed a mismatch between the empathizing tendency of many students and a climate that discourages professional outlets for such tendencies; as well as incongruencies between professional and engineering identities. We argued that female students were deterred from their engineering aspirations by a climate that included engineering stereotypes, a traditional male-style hierarchy, and differential treatment. Our second endeavor (IMECE 2020-23679) showcased findings from a subsequent STEMpathy study we conducted at our own institution that inspired a persistence model that placed social responsibility goals, or the desire to pursue a career for the betterment of humanity, as well as treatment of students, front and center in the effort to better understand female and minority persistence. Surrounding that goal orientation are categories of factors that deter women and minorities that can be categorized as: 1) Cultural ideological forces; 2) Social structural factors; and 3) the Organizational culture of mechanical engineering. The current undertaking advances empirically based recommendations on ways to: 1) foster a more inclusive engineering culture; 2) enhance the curriculum; and 3) improve public perception of mechanical engineering with the aim of boosting students’ desire to embrace and persist in mechanical engineering. Persistence data from our study informs a five-year NSF grant: S-STEM: The Mechanical Engineering Retention, Academic Success and Career Pathway Program (NSF: DUE-2027632).
Gender Issues in Engineering Education: What Systemizing and Empathizing Have to Do With It
American Society of Mechanical EngineersFertig, Jan, Kumpaty, Subha
January 18, 2018
More than half of U.S. students entering college are female, but female students are still largely absent from engineering fields. The persistent absence of females in engineering may owe itself, at least in part, to a fundamental difference in cognitive approaches between males and females. Although there is a significant amount of cross-over, males are more likely than females to have a systemizing brain, which is associated with a drive to understand how the world works through the identification and creation of patterns and rules. Females are more likely to be born with an empathizing style, which lends itself to a natural aptitude for identifying others’ thoughts and emotions. This systemizing-empathizing dichotomy is based on the work of Simon Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Engineering programs are geared toward those with a higher SQ (systemizing quotient).
This paper reviews relevant research on how systemizing-empathizing (S-E) theory applies to engineering education and examines current research on the reasons behind the dearth of females in engineering, finding that the contemporary engineering culture in college is also characterized by subtle forms of discrimination that systematically direct women away from engineering. Finally, some recommendations are made for how engineering programs might engage a broader base of students.
STEMpathy Study on Persistence in Mechanical Engineering
IMECE 2020-23679Drs. Fertig, Jan and Kumpaty, Subha
November 2020
Empathy as Key to Inclusivity
2022 ASEE Annual Conference and ExpositionFertig, J.L. and Kumpaty, S.K.
January 26-29, 2022
Attrition of female and underrepresented students from university engineering programs is disproportionately high at a time when a diverse engineering workforce is urgently needed to solve complex global problems. Female and minority students are more likely to pursue engineering to make a difference and to find such aspirations frustrated in programs that fail to provide a clear path to the fulfillment of those dreams. In addition, diverse students face particular challenges to a sense of belonging in engineering as well as social-structural factors that hold them back from being able to be fully involved in their undergraduate education. Based on calls for an infusion of empathy into engineering education, this paper makes recommendations for empathy-based interventions that address unique challenges faced by diverse, underrepresented students in engineering programs. These recommendations are based on an extensive literature as well as an original study conducted at our university. Undergraduates in nine engineering programs completed a survey consisting of developed measures of “STEMpathy” (empathy in STEM); equitable treatment across commonly known bases for discrimination; a measure of personal empathy based on Baron-Cohen’s systemizing-empathizing dichotomy; a developed instrument to measure likelihood of persistence; and qualitative questions on reasons for career choice and discriminatory experiences in college. Multiple linear regression analysis supported the hypothesis that persistence likelihood is a function of program STEMpathy and departmental fairness (lack of discrimination) and showed a moderating effect of empathy on program fairness/discrimination.
