Olivery Ni | Contributing Illustrator

The Women & Engineering (W&E) Center in the McKelvey School of Engineering was founded in 2023 to foster a community that supports female engineering students navigating their collegiate and professional careers. Over the summer, the W&E Center closed with no explanation.

As a senior in McKelvey and a vice president for the WashU Society of Women Engineers (SWE), I saw how instrumental the W&E Center was in supporting SWE’s success. With the help of the W&E Center’s funding, SWE hosted networking dinners, mentorship events, and professional panels, and under the leadership of the W&E Center’s former director, Christine Dearmont, the center became a lifeline for many of us. It was a place where women engineers could talk openly about their experiences in a field still largely dominated by men. 

One of the center’s most impactful programs was Women & Engineering (WE) Day, which brought together students, alumni, faculty, and staff to share advice and encouragement for women pursuing engineering. Many who attended described feeling inspired and more confident in their academic and professional paths. 

After the W&E center closed, McKelvey administrators sent no explanation via email, announcement, or statement to students. Instead, the center’s digital presence quietly vanished. The webpage disappeared from WashU’s site, the Instagram account was deleted, and even a podcast produced by McKelvey featuring Dearmont and her work with the W&E Center was taken down. I only learned about the closure through my club leadership role, not through the administration. To this day, the administration has not publicly addressed the decision to close the center or the impact its closure has on the female students it was designed to help. 

I understand that WashU, like many universities, is navigating difficult financial circumstances, as Chancellor Andrew D. Martin mentioned in the webinar shared by the University on Oct. 6. Additionally, attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at universities across the U.S. are being launched by the Trump administration. As StudLife previously reported, mentions of DEI initiatives have been taken down from WashU sites. During a meeting with SWE this summer, a McKelvey staff member shared that WashU’s Office of General Counsel advised the closure of the center. This action signals a worrying willingness to yield to political pressure.

WashU leaders should stand up to the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI programming. They should have allowed the center to continue to operate and benefit the student body. For women in engineering, these initiatives are often the bridge to internships, mentors, and careers in spaces that remain challenging to enter and thrive in. According to McKelvey, in the fall of 2025, women made up 38% of engineers pursuing an undergraduate degree and 24% of students pursuing a master’s. Nationally, only 20.4% of graduates in engineering, manufacturing, and construction are women, according to the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap 2024 Report. 

If the closure of the W&E Center was unavoidable, the University still owes its students transparency and accountability. That means clearly explaining why the decision was made, what factors led to it, and how WashU plans to continue supporting women engineers. Silence erodes trust; transparency rebuilds it.

WashU can do better. If institutional centers supporting the diverse student population are cut, the administration must meaningfully invest in student organizations that continue this work. Groups like SWE, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) are already building inclusive spaces for engineering students. While student groups contribute meaningful work, a dedicated center with paid, experienced staff provides the structure, accountability, and funding necessary for sustained impact. The University should also commit to publicly disclosing future changes to programs affecting underrepresented students instead of quietly deleting them from the website. 

WashU is silently cutting valuable professional development programs. As students, we can’t afford to stay silent. McKelvey administrators should reinstate the W&E Center.