Irma Wyman
Encyclopedia
Irma M. Wyman was an early computer engineer and the first woman to become vice president of Honeywell, Inc. She was a systems thinking
tutor and was the first female CIO
of Honeywell
.
as one of seven female students. To supplement her scholarship, she worked as a switchboard operator and waitress.
At the time, women in engineering programs received little encouragement and support. While her grades qualified her for membership in Tau Beta Phi, the engineering honor society, she received only an honorary membership, since the society did not admit women at the time. Wyman graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences/EM degree in 1949.
. She became interested in computers and later recalled that "I became an enthusiastic pioneer in this new technology and it led to my life's career."
After graduation, she joined a start-up company that was eventually acquired by Honeywell Information Systems. She moved to Minneapolis and began a long management career at Honeywell, eventually serving as Chief Information Officer. She became vice president of Honeywell
Corporate Information Management (CIM) before retiring in 1990.
Wyman then began a second career as archdeacon in the Minnesota
Diocese
of the Episcopal Church where she coached servant leadership
, retiring again after ten years as Archdeacon of the Diocese of Minnesota.
Wyman supported research and planning as a thought leader
in futures studies. As an aside to this, she contended to an interviewer in 1979, that
Wyman endowed the Irma M. Wyman Scholarship at the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women to support women in engineering, computer science and related fields.
Systems thinking
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
tutor and was the first female CIO
Chief information officer
Chief information officer , or information technology director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals...
of Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
.
Academic life
In 1945, Wyman received a Regents Scholarship and was accepted into the College of Engineering at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
as one of seven female students. To supplement her scholarship, she worked as a switchboard operator and waitress.
At the time, women in engineering programs received little encouragement and support. While her grades qualified her for membership in Tau Beta Phi, the engineering honor society, she received only an honorary membership, since the society did not admit women at the time. Wyman graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences/EM degree in 1949.
Computing
While still a junior in college, Wyman worked on a missile guidance project at the Willow Run Research Center. To calculate trajectory, they used mechanical calculators. She visited a Navy research facility that was working on similar problems, and discovered they were using a prototype of a programmable computer that had been developed at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She became interested in computers and later recalled that "I became an enthusiastic pioneer in this new technology and it led to my life's career."
After graduation, she joined a start-up company that was eventually acquired by Honeywell Information Systems. She moved to Minneapolis and began a long management career at Honeywell, eventually serving as Chief Information Officer. She became vice president of Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
Corporate Information Management (CIM) before retiring in 1990.
Wyman then began a second career as archdeacon in the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of the Episcopal Church where she coached servant leadership
Servant leadership
Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf and supported by many leadership and management writers such as James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Scott Greenberg, Larry Spears, Margaret...
, retiring again after ten years as Archdeacon of the Diocese of Minnesota.
Wyman supported research and planning as a thought leader
Thought leader
Thought leader is business jargon for an entity that is recognized for having innovative ideas.The term was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz Allen Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business. "Thought leader" was used to designate interview subjects for that magazine who had...
in futures studies. As an aside to this, she contended to an interviewer in 1979, that
- it's just as important to know when to ignore all the careful planning and seize an opportunity.
Wyman endowed the Irma M. Wyman Scholarship at the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women to support women in engineering, computer science and related fields.
Awards and Honors
- Michigan Engineering Alumni Society Medal - 2001
- Honorary Doctor of Engineering, University of Michigan - 2007
Quote
We never get a second chance to make a first impression. (1983–1987)- When sponsoring Honeywell's innovative Corporate Information Management Information SecurityInformation securityInformation security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
Awareness Program (ISAP).