Environmental microbiologist Rita Colwell was the first woman director of the National Science Foundation. She is the keynote speaker at a Gender Studies symposium May 13 at UMSL.

Rita Colwell, the first woman director of the National Science Foundation, will serve as the keynote speaker for “Women in the Academy: Leveling the Playing Field.” The Gender Studies program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will host the free symposium, which will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 13 in the Student Government Chamber at the Millennium Student Center at UMSL.

Colwell served as the 11th director of the NSF from 1998-2004. She is now a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland at College Park, an adjunct faculty member at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at The John Hopkins University in Baltimore and chairman of Canon US Life Sciences, Inc. She has built a career on tackling global infectious diseases, particularly waterborne diseases like cholera.

The symposium will also include the following panels:

* “Tenure & Promotion Challenges in the Liberal Arts and the STEM Disciplines: Overcoming Institutional Barriers for All Faculty”
* “Women in Administration: Pathways and Preparation”
* “Models for Mentoring: Facilitating Professional Development”
* “Where Do We Go From Here?”

Moderators and panelists will include faculty members and administrators from UMSL, University of Missouri–Columbia, University of Missouri–Kansas City, Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

“Women in the Academy: Leveling the Playing Field” is co-sponsored by the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life and the College of Arts and Sciences at UMSL. The Millennium Student Center in on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121).

Contact Fern Mreen at 314-516-5581 or mreenf@umsl.edu for more information or to register.

More information:
umsl.edu/~genderstudies/women_in_the_academy.html

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Ryan Heinz

Ryan Heinz