Archive for 2020
Academic Study Examines the Best Way to Increase Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards
A new working paper of the European Corporate Governance Institute, written by scholars at Washington University, the University of Alabama, and Northwestern University, finds that shareholder influence is more effective in diversifying boards of directors than mandates by governments or financial organizations.
Vernell Bennett-Fairs Named the Thirteenth President of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis
Since 2016, Dr. Bennett-Fairs has been serving as vice president for student affairs at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Earlier, she was vice president for student affairs at Kentucky State University.
In Memoriam: Mae Riedy Carter, 1921-2020
Carter established and served as chair of the Women’s Studies Interdisciplinary Program, now the Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Delaware.
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.
In Memoriam: Leith Patricia Mullings, 1945-2020
After teaching for six years at Columbia University, Dr. Mullings joined the faculty at the City University of New York in 1983. There she eventually became a distinguished professor of anthropology at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.
Three Women Leaders of Colleges and Universities Announce They Are Stepping Down
The three women leaders who are stepping down from their posts are Donna Carroll, president of Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, Shirley A. Reed, the founding president of South Texas College in McAllen, and Lara Tiedens, president of Scripps College in Claremont, California.
In Memoriam: Gladys Eloise Beckwith, 1929-2020
Dr. Beckwith taught at Baylor University in Texas before moving to Michigan State University in 1965 where she stayed until her retirement in 1999. She was one of the first women’s studies professors in the nation.
New Assignments for Five Women Faculty Members at Universities
The five women scholars who are taking on new roles at Natalia Castro Picón at Princeton University in New Jersey, Kathleen Feeley at the University of Redlands in California, Karsonya Whitehead at Loyola University of Maryland, Morgan Pfieffer at Oklahoma State Univerity, and Rhamin Ligon of the University of Maryland.
Frederick Douglass Book Award to Be Presented to Sophie White of the University of Notre Dame
In her new book, Sophie White, a professor in the department of American studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, offers a glimpse into the lives of enslaved people — through their own words — by analyzing courtroom testimony from enslaved Africans in French colonies, primarily in 18th-century Louisiana.
Five Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities
Taking on new administrative duties are Julie Jordan at Mississippi State University, Ashley Irviin at Xavier University in New Orleans, Adriana Lau at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Claudia Grant at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, and Maria Anguiano at Arizona State University.
Yale’s Marina Picciotto Awarded the Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Science
Marina R. Picciotto is the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry at Yale Medical School and professor in the Child Study Center at the university. She also serves as editor in chief of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Three Universities Announce the Appointments of Women to Dean Positions
Debora Jackson was appointed dean of the Robert A. Foisie Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Beverly Henry was named interim dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University. and Margaret Shadduck was appointed dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies at Kent State University in Ohio.
University of California, Santa Barbara Scholar Wins Book Award From the American Anthropological Association
Suma Ikeuchi, an assistant professor of East Asian languages and cultural studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been awarded the Francis K. Hsu Prize for the best book in the anthropology of East Asia.
Three Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Positions in Higher Education
Maysa Akbar of Yale University was named chief diversity officer for the American Psychological Association. Lorie Johnson-Osho is the new director of faculty diversity and development at the Univerity of Pittsburgh and Eboni Britt was named executive director of strategic communications in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Syracuse University.
In Memoriam: Marjorie Rosenthal, 1967-2020
Majorie Rosenthal was an associate professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. At the time of her death, she was completing work on her memoir relating her experiences as a mother, daughter, pediatrician, widow, and person living with metastatic cancer.
L. Song Richardson Will Be the Next President of Colorado College
Richardson currently is the dean and chancellor’s professor of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. When she was appointed to that post in January 2018, she was the only woman of color to lead a top-30 law school. Earlier, she was senior associate dean for academic affairs at the law school.
National Science Foundation Reports a Slight Drop in Doctoral Degree Attainments by Women
The National Science Foundation reports that in 2019, 17,994 American women earned doctorates at U.S. colleges and universities. From 2016 to 2018, more than 18,000 American women earned doctorates each year. Women earning doctoral degrees has increased 10.2 percent since 2010. For men the increase has been 13.1 percent.
Marielena DeSanctis Appointed President of the Community College of Denver
Dr. Desanctis has been serving as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs and student services at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Prior to joining Broward College in 2014, Dr. DeSanctis served as the executive director of curriculum for Broward County Public Schools.
AAUP Report Examines the Status of Women in the Academy
Among the key findings of the report from the American Association of University Professors is that for tenure-line faculty members, women make up 50.0 percent of assistant professors but only 45.0 percent of associate professors and 32.5 percent of full professors.
Brandeis University in Massachusetts Appoints Carol Fierke as Provost
Since 2017, Dr. Fierke has been provost and executive vice president at Texas A&M University. She also holds professorships in chemistry and biochemistry and has been conducting research on COVID-19. Prior to arriving at Texas A&M, Dr. Fierke spent much of her career at the University of Michigan.
Academic Study Examines the Gender Gap in Mask Wearing During the Early Days of the Pandemic
A new study led by researchers at New Mexico State University and Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, finds that women have been more conscientious than men in taking measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Margaret Annunziata Will Be the Next President of Isothermal Community College in North Carolina
Dr. Annunziata is currently vice president for academic affairs at Davidson County Community College in Thomasville, North Carolina. She previously served as director of student success and institutional assessment at Davidson County Community College.
In Memoriam: Alison Lurie, 1926-2020
Professor Lurie joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1969, She was only the second woman to be awarded tenure. In 1989 she was named the F.J. Whiton Professor of American Literature. She retired from teaching in 2005.
The Gender, Race, and Identity Department at the University of Nevada, Reno Adds Three Minor Degree Programs
The Gender, Race, and Identity program at the University of Nevada, Reno transitioned to department status earlier this semester. The department offers a bachelor’s degree program in gender, race, and identity with minors in ethnic studies, religious studies, women’s studies, and Holocaust, genocide and peace studies. Three new minor degree concentrations have been established.
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.
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.
In Memoriam: Judith Jarvis Thomson, 1929-2020
Before joining the faculty at MIT in 1964, Judith Thomson taught at Barnard College and Boston University. Professor Thomson taught morality and metaphysics at MIT for 40 years before retiring in 2004.
Five Women Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles in Higher Education
The five women scholars who are taking on new duties are Meenakshi Arora at the University of Alabama, Kendra Sharp of the College of Engineering at Oregon State University, Florastina Payton-Stewart at Xavier Univerity of Louisiana, Emily Sundman at Texas Tech University, and Ruha Benjamin at Princeton University in New Jersey.
Two Women Win the James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award From the Association for Psychological Science
The award is given to psychology’s most accomplished and respected scientists whose research addresses critical societal problems. Alison Gopnik of the University of California, Berkeley, and Megan Gunnar of the University of Minnesota are two of this year’s three winners.
Three Universities Have Announced the Appointment of Women to Dean Positions
Ayanna Howard will be the first woman dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. Michelle Roehm has been appointed interim dean of the School of Business at Wake Forest University and Noma Anderson was named dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont.
Colorado State’s Ellen Fisher Honored by the American Vacuum Society
Dr. Fisher’s research group provides insight into the fundamental chemistry of very complex systems, namely plasmas. Plasmas are partially ionized gases that have a plethora of different types of reactive species, which the group works on deconstructing to better understand each one.
Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Five Women to Administrative Positions
Taking on new administrative roles are Susan Cunningham at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, Mary Rob Plunkett at the University of North Georgia, Sally C. Morton at Arizona State University, Angela Salas at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and Sara Asher at Yeshiva University in New York.
Christa Kelleher Wins Early Career Award From the Geological Society of America
Dr. Kelleher, who holds degrees from Lafayette College and Pennsylvania State University, is the first faculty member from Syracuse Univerity to win the early career award in hydrogeology, which is presented each year to only one scientist in the United States.
