Archive for 2017
Online Articles of Interest to WIAReport Readers
Each week, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
The Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology & Society Established at the University of South Carolina
Ann Johnson served as an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, where she held joint appointments in the departments of history and philosophy. After her death in 2016 at the age of 51, Dr. Johnson’s father made a gift to establish an institute in her name on the university’s campus.
In Memoriam: Lilli Schwenk Hornig, 1921-2017
Lilli Hornig was a chemist and an educator who conducted research on the atomic bomb. She served as chair of the department of chemistry at what is now Trinity Washington University.
One Woman Among the Four Finalists for Chancellor of the Tri-Cities Campus of Washington State University
Washington State University has announced a field of four candidate to become chancellor of the Tri-Cities campus in Richmond. One of the four finalists is a woman: Sandra Haynes, deputy provost for academic and student affairs at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado.
In Memoriam: Jacqueline A. DeWalt, 1952-2017
Jacqueline DeWalt was the former long-time director of the Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Education (PEOPLE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education
Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
Mentoring Programs May Be the Best Way to Retain Women in Geoscience Disciplines
A new study by researchers at seven universities finds that faculty mentorship is the most important factor in retaining women in geoscience disciplines. The programs can expand a student’s network of support by connecting them with people, particularly other women, they view as role models.
Five Women Named to the Nineteenth Class of George Mitchell Scholars
Winners of the prestigious George J. Mitchell Scholarships are selected to pursue a year of postgraduate study at universities on the island of Ireland. Students are selected on the basis of academic merit, leadership, and service. This year, five of the 12 Mitchell Scholars are women.
New Census Data Shows the Changing Makeup of American Families
Married-couple families make up 69 percent of all families with children in 2017. In 1950, married couple families were 93 percent of all families with children. Over a quarter of married-couple families in 2017 had a stay-at-home mother. Only 1 percent had a stay-at-home father.
Marieke Van Puymbroeck Is the New Leader of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association
Marieke Van Puymbroeck is a professor of recreational therapy at Clemson University in South Carolina. She will serve a one-year term as president of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association, a group founded in 1984 that has about 2,200 members.
Wayne State University Study Shows Little Progress for Women in Michigan’s Top Public Corporations
A new study by faculty members at the Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University in Detroit finds that women hold a small percentage of leadership positions at the 100 largest public corporations in Michigan. For example, women are only 9 percent of the highest-paid executives at these public companies.
The New Dean of the Graduate School of Princeton University
Sarah-Jane Leslie is the Class of 1943 Professor of Philosophy, the vice dean for faculty development in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, the director of the Program in Linguistics, and the founding director of the Program in Cognitive Science at Princeton University.
Manisha Sinha Named as the Winner of the 2017 Frederick Douglass Book Prize
Dr. Sinha is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Professor in American History at the University of Connecticut. Professor Sinha was honored for her book The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition (Yale University Press, 2016).
Three Women Appointed to Named Professorships at Large State Universities
The holders of named professorships are Robin Hemphill at the Virignia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Laurie Wideman at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Hava Tirosh-Samuelson at Arizona State University.
A Trio of Women Scholars Honored With Notable Awards
The honorees are Shelly Haley a professor of classics and Africana studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Kathryn Edwards, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, and Marjorie Zatz, dean of the Graduate School at the University of California, Merced.
Three Women Scholars Appointed Department Chairs at Major Universities
Nita Ahuja was appointed chair of the department of surgery at the Yale School of Medicine. Carolina Cruz-Neira was named interim chair of the department of the computer science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Laurin R. Severin was appointed chair of the department of English at North Carolina State University.
Another Honor for the Writing of University of Kansas Scholar Kij Johnson
Kij Johnson, an assistant professor of English at the University of Kansas, received the 2017 World Fantasy Award at the World Fantasy Association convention in San Antonio, Texas. She previously won a Nebula Award for the best short story and a Hugo Award for the nest novella.
A Half Dozen Women Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Here is this week’s roundup of women who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Melissa Gonzalez to Lead the Southeast College of the Houston Community College System
Dr. Gonzalez has been serving as vice chancellor and chief of staff to the Chancellor of Houston Community College. She came to the college in 2015 after serving as vice chancellor for workforce and economic development at Lone State College in The Woodlands, Texas.
In Memoriam: Cecelia Marie O’Connell, 1927-2017
Peggy McConnell was a graduate of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and served on the faculty there from 1967 to `998.
St. Catherine University Receives a Major Donation of Property
St. Catherine University, a woman-oriented educational institution in St. Paul, Minnesota, received the donation of a property in Minneapolis that has been owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for the past 130 years.
Geography Scholar Files a Sexual Discrimination Lawsuit Against the University of North Carolina
The suit alleges gender discrimination and retaliation against associate professor of geography Altha Cravey after she raised concerns about sexual and racial discrimination at the university.
In Memoriam: Barbara Buchanan Lewis, 1938-2017
Barbara Buchanan Lewis was the first woman to serve as dean of the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. Prior to her career in academia, Professor Lewis worked as an attorney for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Three Women Scholars Announce They Are Stepping Down From Their Posts
Carolyn Meier was named professor emerita at Virginia Tech. Susan Baldridge, provost at Middlebury College, and Patricia E. Beeson, provost at the University of Pittsburgh, will be leaving their administrative posts and return to tenured faculty positions.
Online Articles of Interest to WIAReport Readers
Each week, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
Recent Books of Interest to Women Scholars
Women in Academia Report regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. Here are the latest selections.
Two Women Are Finalists to Lead the Machias Campus of the University of Maine
The University of Maine has announced a field of four finalists for the position of vice president for academic affairs and head of the Machias campus. Two are women: Elizabeth Mauch a professor of mathematics at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania and Heather Lattimer, former associate dean of education at the University of San Diego.
Four Women Join the Faculty of the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT
The School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced the appointment of five new faculty members. Four of the new hires are women: Judith Barry, Mariana Ibanez, Erica James, and Danielle Wood.
Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, Names Its Next Provost
For the past 11 years, Dr. Margaret Kasimatis has served as vice provost for strategic planning and educational effectiveness at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She also held a tenured faculty post in the department of educational leadership at the university.
Two Women Earn Teaching Awards From the U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture has selected two scholars to received the 2017 National Excellence in College and University Teaching Award: Suzanne Nielsen of Purdue University and Ann Marie VanDerZanden of Iowa State University.
Nine Women Scholars Taking on New Assignments in Higher Education
Here is this week’s listing of women faculty members from colleges and universities throughout the United States who have been appointed to new positions or have been assigned new duties.
Ladee Hubbard to Receive the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Ladee Hubbard, who teaches in the Africana studies program at Tulane University in New Orleans, is being honored for her debut novel The Talented Ribkins, the story of an African American family whose members have unique superpowers.
Eight Women Who Will Be Taking on New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Here is this week’s roundup of women who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Four Women Scholars Honored With Prestigious Awards
The honorees are Donna K. Arnett of the University of Kentucky, Caroline Haythornthwaite of Syracuse University in New York, Kelly McQueen of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Rachel Croson of Michigan State University.
Three Women Have Joined the Faculty of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University
The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University has added five scholars to its core faculty. Three of the new hires are women: Robyn Meeks, Linda Burton, and Elizabeth J. Gifford.
