News

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of undergraduate women at Lehigh, President Alice P. Gast announced that the university has established a new $1 million endowed scholarship program to support women studying in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Read More.

The mission of Lehigh ADVANCE focuses on women faculty in STEM fields. However, with over 1200 employees working alongside our 463 faculty (240 full time, tenure/tenure-track in STEM, 2011 data), it is easy to imagine the impact University staff members have on the lives and careers of faculty and on the culture of academic departments, programs, and colleges. University employees have several opportunities to learn about the institution, and one of the most interactive approaches...

Lehigh ADVANCE was contacted by University Media Relations following a request by Kelsey Cruz to interview men STEM faculty who could comment on increasing representation of women in science. Dr. Hank Korth participated in a phone interview, and the work of Lehigh ADVANCE, the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program, and the ongoing efforts of other organizations and institutions are featured prominently in the final news story.

Recent research published in Science by Deborah Kaminski and Cheryl Geisler about retention of STEM women faculty seems to suggest that women and men are retained and promoted at similar rates in most STEM disciplines, except for mathematics and math intensive fields. They found since 1990, from time of hire in science and engineering fields, median time to exit is about 11 years for women and men. In mathematics, 50% of faculty (male or female)...

ELATE at Drexel™ is a one year part time Fellowship program designed to support the leadership development of senior women faculty in the fields of academic engineering, science, and technology. This exciting new program has attracted expert facilitators from these fields, and was recently awarded a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to implement rigorous research on the program’s impact and efficacy. ELATE at Drexel will be accepting applications for its 2012-2013 fellowship year...

Lehigh ADVANCE is pleased to have selected the ADVANCE Chairs for 2012 and 2013: Dr. Kate Arrington, Associate Professor, Psychology; Dr. Kristen Jellison, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr. Jill Schneider, Professor Biological Sciences, and Dr. Svetlana Tatic-Lucic, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering join the leadership team and have the prime responsibility of co-organizing the ADVANCE Academic Symposium, currently scheduled for 2013. The ADVANCE Chair positions are for one year with the opportunity...

The Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society nominations are due! Please consider nominating your deserving undergraduate or graduate students, research scientists or post docs to become new/promoted associate or full members of Sigma Xi. Forms can be found at http://www.sigmaxi.org/member/join/nom.shtml. Here are the rules and conditions for nomination: 1. The nominee should be in Engineering, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences or Physics disciplines. 2. You must be an active (dues paid for 2011-2012)...

This week's issue of Nature features an interview with Nancy Hopkins, who is retiring this spring from MIT. In 2005 she famously walked out during a presentation by Larry Summers, then-president of Harvard University, when he suggested that innate differences might account for the lack of women in high-achieving roles in science. Read her reflections on her career as a women in molecular genetics.

On the centennial of Marie Curie’s second Nobel Prize, Lehigh President Alice P. Gast joined an influential group of leaders in New York City to advance the role and participation of women in the sciences. Read the full story from Lehigh News and discover how Lehigh ADVANCE plays a role in addressing the underrepresentation of women in the sciences and engineering.

The American Geophysical Union, AGU, along with the American Chemical Society, American Mathematical Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, Mathematical Association of America, Society for Neuroscience, and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics are examining whether gender bias affects selection of recipients of society awards. In partnership with AWIS and supported by an NSF grant, the project is called Advancing Ways of Awarding Recognition in Disciplinary Societies (AWARDS). In the November issue of Eos , the...