Tufts University and the Intel Foundation sponsored a conference on gender equity in engineering education at the National Academy of Engineering January 14-15, 2003, in Washington DC. Engineering schools were invited to send teams led by the engineering dean to the conference. The overall goal was to provide a venue for the exchange of information, highlight cutting edge research about and programs addressing gender issues in engineering, and give participating teams the opportunity to synthesize this information into a plan to accelerate gender equity at their institutions. This paper presents preliminary outcomes from the conference, including challenges that deans and faculty face in addressing issues of gender equity and some strategies for overcoming these obstacles; types of institutional support and roles that administrators or faculty assume that promote change; and action plans developed by the participating teams to mainstream gender equity at their institutions.