All Entries in the "Uncategorized" Category
Increased Access to Collaborative Learning Classrooms Could Help Close the Gender Gap in STEM Fields
A new study from researchers at the University of Kansas found women preferred active learning classrooms as opposed to traditional lectures. Increased accessibility to such learning environments could be a key to ensuring there are welcoming places for women where they can engage with instructors and peers while they learn, stay enrolled, and move on to careers in STEM fields.
Pennsylvania Seeking to Mount a Major Effort to Combat Campus Sexual Assault
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has made addressing the problem of sexual assault on college campuses a priority of his administration. The governor’s “It’s on Us, PA” program has provided more than $5 million in grants to 190 postsecondary schools for programs to combat sexual assault. Now the governor has proposed four new legislative initiatives to further address the problem of campus sexual assault.
In Memoriam: Diana Siedhoff Natalicio, 1939-2021
In 1988, Professor Natalicio was named president of the University of Texas at El Paso. She was the first woman to hold the position. She served in that role for 31 years until her retirement in 2019. Her 31-year tenure in the university’s highest office stood as the sixth-longest of any public doctoral/research university president in history at the time of her retirement.
Where Do Women’s Colleges Stand in This Year’s U.S. News Rankings?
The magazine U.S. News and World Report recently issued its annual rankings of the best colleges and universities in the United States. Six women’s colleges are included in the rankings of the top 30 best liberal arts colleges in the nation.
Laurie Van Egeren Will Be First Woman President of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium
Laurie Van Egeren, interim associate provost for university outreach and engagement and an adjunct faculty member in the department of human development and family studies at Michigan State University, will be the next president of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium. Her three-year term begins in October.
Women Are More Than Half of the Incoming MBA Class at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School of the Univerity of Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s most prestigious business schools. Now for the first time in its 140-year history, women will comprise more than half of the incoming first-year class of MBA students. At nearly 52 percent, the percentage of women in the Wharton MBA Class of 2023 represents a 10 percent increase in female students over last year’s first-year students.
Candice McQueen Will Be the First Woman President of Lipscomb University in Nashville
Dr. McQueen most recently served as CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, a national nonprofit founded by the Milken Education Foundation. She is the former commissioner of education for the state of Tennessee. Earlier she was dean of the College of Education at Lipscomb University.
Aisha Francis Is First Woman President of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston
Previously, Dr. Francis was the college’s chief executive officer at the institute overseeing the day-to-day operations of the college. Earlier, she served as chief of staff to the institute’s president. Prior to joining BFIT, she served as the managing director of development for Harvard Medical School.
In Memoriam: Paula Joan Caplaan, 1947-2021
Paula Joan Caplaan, was a psychologist and prominent feminist scholar who taught at Harvard University and the University of Toronto.
A Quartet of Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Head Schools at Major Universities
Gulsah Akar was appointed head of the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech and Karen C. Spence is the new director of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University. Also, Tusty ten Bensel was named the director of the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Tijana Rajh will lead the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University.
University of Wisconsin Scholar Wins the Callaway Prize for the Best Book on Drama or Theater
Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been awarded the 2020 Callaway Prize. The prize, which carries a cash award of $9,000, is given by the department of English at New York University for the best book on drama or theatre published during the previous two years by an American author.
Two State University Presidents Announce That They Will Retire Later This Year
Deborah F. Stanley, president of the State University of New York Oswego, announced that she will retire at the end of the year and Elaine C. Collins, president of Northern Vermont University, has announced that she will step down in August.
Four Women Scholars in STEM Fields Named to Head Their Academic Departments
The four new department heads are Christa Hestekin in chemical engineering at the University of Arkansas, Mary Frecker in mechanical engineering at Pennsylvania State University, Rebecca Nugent in statistics and data science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Sarah Olson in mathematical sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
University of Georgia Study Finds Persisting Gender Gap in a Large Federal Government Agency
While women still earn about 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, one would expect that the federal government would be a leader in pay equity, But a new study led by researchers at the University of Georgia finds that women continue to be paid less than men at one of the government’s largest agencies.
In Memoriam: Marion Walter, 1928-2021
Dr. Walter was born in Berlin Germany. In 1938, she was one of 10,000 Jewish children evacuated from Germany and surrounding countries to the United Kingdom before the start of World War II. She founded the mathematics department at what is now Simmons University in Boston and later taught at the University of Oregon.
The School Science and Mathematics Association Names Its Next Leader
Margaret Mohr-Schroeder is a professor of STEM Education and associate dean for clinical preparation and partnerships in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. Her term as president of the School Science and Mathematics Association will begin in 2022.
Gilda Barabino Is the New President-Elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Gilda Barabino is the president of the Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts. After serving for one year as president-elect, Dr. Barabino will serve one year as AAAS president and then one year as chair of the AAAS Board of Directors.
In Memoriam: Elizabeth Anne Flanagan, 1952-2021
Elizabeth A. Flanagan was the first woman to lead fundraising efforts at Virginia Tech. She served as vice president for development and university relations from 2000 to 2015.
In Memoriam: Thelma Jean Grossholtz, 1929-2021
Professor Grossholtz joined the faculty at Mount Holyoke College in 1961 and founded the women’s studies program. She taught politics and women’s studies at the college. She retired in 1999.
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.
Four Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts at Colleges and Universities
Taking on new diversity roles are Tiffany López at Arizona State University, Alaine Allen at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux at the California Institute of Technology, and Joanne Pluff at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.
Three Women Scholars Appointed to Endowed Professorships at Colleges and Universities
Emine Fetvaci was appointed to an endowed chair in Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College. Tanja Kral has been named to an endowed chair in nursing science at the University of Pennsylvania and Amanda Bayer was appointed to the Franklin and Betty Barr Chair in Economics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
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.
American Educational Research Association to Honor Lynda Wiest of the University of Nevada
Lynda Wiest, professor of mathematics education and educational equity at the University of Nevada, Reno, received the Willystine Goodsell Award which recognizes educators who support women, girls, and education through scholarship, activism, or community building.
Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership Established at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
The Center’s academic focus will include producing innovative and theoretically grounded research and creating a data center on issues of women and gender. J. Jarpa Dawuni, an associate professor of political science at the university, was named director of the new center.
Karen Kopera-Frye to Lead the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hawai’i, Hilo
Dr. Kopera-Frye is currently a professor in public health sciences at New Mexico State University, a position she has held since fall 2016. She has also served as associate dean for academics, and associate dean for research in the College of Health and Social Services, from September 2016 to January 2019.
In Memoriam: Kristie Lea Storms, 1986-2020
Kristie Storms served as a family and consumer sciences educator for more than 12 years before joining Texas Tech as an instructor in 2018.
In Memoriam: Bettina Gilois, 1961-2020
Bettina Gilois was an award-winning screenwriter and an assistant professor in the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange California.
Study Finds Women Outperform Men in College STEM Courses, But Are Still Perceived as Less Competent
The study by researchers at Colorado State University found that women had statistically higher course grades than men, higher university-wide GPAs than men, and were 1.5 times more likely to earn an A or A+ than men. Yet, both men and women students ranked men as the top students in these courses.
Five Women Who Have Stepped Down From High-Level Posts in the Academic World
The women who are stepping down are Anne Prisco, president of Felician University in New Jersey, Mary Larson Diaz at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Holly Hanson at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Frances N. Coleman at Mississippi State University, and Jane Hegland at South Dakota State University.
A Quartet of Women Academics Who Have Announced Their Retirements
The women scholars who are retiring are Karen Uehling at Boise State University in Idaho, Alfreda Brown at Kent State University in Ohio, Jeanine Basinger at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Deb Bergstrand at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
In Memoriam: Joyce Whitten McManus, 1936-2020
Dr. McManus became a long-time employee of Alcorn State University on the Natchez Campus as a member of the baccalaureate nursing program in 1978. She served on the university’s faculty for more than a quarter century.
Three Women Scholars Appointed to Provost Positions at Major Universities
Marie Mora was appointed provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Mary Clark was named provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Denver and Teresa Kaye Woodruff was named the next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Michigan State University.
Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore Named Provost at California Polytechnic State University
Dr. Jackson-Elmoore is currently dean of the Honors College at Michigan State University and a professor with affiliations in the School of Social Work and the Global Urban Studies Program. She also currently co-chairs a university-level Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee.
Marie Lynn Miranda Will Be the Next Provost at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana
A professor of statistics at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Dr. Miranda was the university’s Howard R. Hughes Provost from 2015 to 2019. Earlier, she taught at the University of Michigan and Duke Univerity. Dr. Miranda will become provost at the University of Notre Dame on July 1.
