Archives 2008
Thanks to Dr. Anne Vidaver and to everyone who came to lunch and shared Dr. Vidaver's story!
We had over 60 people share lunch with us, including students, graduate students, faculty, staff and administrators. Thanks to everyone for coming! We heard that folks enjoyed gathering together and discovering all the great people on campus working in the same direction. We have so many great women on campus to showcase, we would like to organize brown-bag luncheons on a more frequent basis than the free-lunch luncheons budgeted in the ADVANCE-NE grant.

Powerpoint Presentation :
An Iconic Perspective on Women in Science: or, I Didn't know I was a Pioneer
Dr. Anne Vidaver, Professor of Plant Pathology at UNL, presents: "An Iconic Perspective on Women in Science: or, I Didn't know I was a Pioneer"
Dr. Vidaver is Advance-Nebraska's kickoff speaker at our first lunch:
Tuesday, December 2nd
11:30 a.m.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, City Union
(Many thanks to Dr. Vidaver for coming across town to speak for us!)
Our informal lunch series will feature women in STEM who have navigated academic careers and will share their success strategies with faculty and students.

Powerpoint Presentation :
An Iconic Perspective on Women in Science: or, I Didn't know I was a Pioneer
**Please register for free lunch for you and your students by sending an email to advance2@unl.edu.
Mark Your Calendars: Monday, March 2, 2009
First Professional Development Workshop presented by COACh
WHAT IS COACh? (http://coach.uoregon.edu/index.html)
COACh was formed in 1998 by a group of senior women faculty in the chemical sciences with a common concern about the gender-based obstacles women scientists face in trying to attain their career goals.
COACh Goals
- To work towards eliminating inequities in the system that impede the careers of women scientists and engineers.
- To develop and implement workshops for women in technical fields that will assist them in achieving their career goals.
- To provide avenues for networking and mentoring with other women scientists and engineers.
- To work in an advisory capacity with departments and institutions to increase the recruitment, hiring, retention and success of women in the sciences.
- To provide programs that will improve the climate in our institutions and laboratories so that all scientists can achieve their full potential.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Strategies For Leading Change
The goal of this workshop is to increase the capabilities of institutional leaders to effect change within their organizations. Many highly successful people can easily identify what changes need to happen, but find it difficult to lead others to confront the challenges facing their group. Building on the theatre and leadership techniques introduced in the morning workshop, Strategic Persuasion, participants will learn a new way of thinking about group processes. They will experience the potential of charisma, the power of vocal presence and clarity, learn how tactics can be expressed through the voice, learn to differentiate types of challenges, understand how roles determine strategies, identify the pressures behind the resistance to change, and learn how to make effective interventions.
In a highly interactive format which encourages deeply personal learning, we will analyze a case that arises from the group and explore a method to clarify the larger purpose while identifying the trap of "quick fixes." Through a personal questioning process and partnered debrief, participants will have an opportunity to examine their own organizational challenges. Participants will leave with new strategies -- theoretical, psychological, and physical -- for successfully leading change in their institutions or organizations.
Biographies of COACh Workshop Coordinators
Lee Warren is Associate Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University (http://bokcenter.harvard.edu) and is a pedagogical coach for faculty and graduate students teaching at Harvard. She works with clients on group process issues individually, in workshops and seminars, and through videotape. Lee also teaches in the Leadership Executive Programs at the Kennedy School of Government, and consults internationally with Cambridge Leadership Associates. With Nancy Houfek, she has led over 100 STRONG WOMEN/STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE workshops for universities and professional organizations throughout the country.
Her Ph.D., from Stanford University, is in English and American Literature. Before coming to Harvard, she taught at UMass/Boston and MIT and was the Academic Dean of Merrimack Valley College, part of the University System of New Hampshire. She has worked as writing consultant, writing about social issues for numerous private, state, and non-profit organizations in the Boston area. She has published numerous articles on teaching and learning, race, gender, class, case teaching, and leadership, and has co-produced several videotapes used internationally.
Nancy Houfek is Head of Voice & Speech for the American Repertory Theatre (http://www.amrep.org/iatt/houfek.html) at Harvard University where she teaches graduate courses in vocal production, coaches the professional acting company, and administers the M.F.A. in voice training pedagogy. Nancy has presented workshops using theatre techniques for the Derek Bok Center for Teaching & Learning, the Harvard Medical School, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Radcliffe Fellows program, as well as for clients in the private sector. A film of her work with Harvard faculty, "The Act of Teaching," has been produced by the Bok Center for national distribution to faculty development centers. She has coached professional speakers since 1978, and, with Lee Warren, led "Strong Women/Strategic Performance" workshops since 1999 in the United States and Canada.
Nancy holds a B.A. from Stanford University and M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theatre. She has directed or performed over 100 plays or musicals off-Broadway and at regional theatres throughout the country. Faculty positions include the University of Washington, the drama Studio of London, A.C.T., Southern Methodist University, and the University of Minnesota where she headed the actor-training program. She is published in The Voice & Speech Review, The Complete Voice and Speech Workout and the VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainer's Association) Newsletter. Nancy is a Master Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework.
UNL wins major grant to recruit, retain women in science, engineering
A $3.8 million National Science Foundation grant will help the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recruit, promote and retain female faculty in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
At UNL, women comprise less than 20 percent of faculty in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Nationally, NSF reports that women comprise 29 percent of science and engineering faculty at four-year colleges and universities. The five-year grant will enable UNL to create new programs to recruit and support women faculty through each stage of their career. The grant is from NSF's ADVANCE program, which aims to increase participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers.
The goal is to ensure that the pools of applicants for jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics departments match or exceed the percentage of women who receive doctoral degrees in those fields, said Mary Anne Holmes, professor of geosciences and program director for the ADVANCE-Nebraska office being set up through the grant.
"We want the best faculty we can get and the way we're doing business now is not attracting the widest applicant pool," Holmes said.
ADVANCE-Nebraska will be a clearinghouse for job applicants to learn about UNL's existing family friendly policies and for department chairs to get information about best hiring practices. Holmes said one of the office's key roles will be facilitating dual-career hires.
"When a department wants to hire a top candidate, it has to move quickly because they are probably being recruited by other schools. We don't want to lose good candidates because we couldn't find a place for his or her spouse," said Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, who will oversee the ADVANCE-Nebraska program.
The grant funds recruitment activities such as sending UNL faculty to national conferences to search for talented candidates, inviting top female researchers to give presentations at UNL and bringing recruits to campus for pre-interview visits. In addition to outreach programs, a committee of five faculty members will gather and disseminate information on best recruitment practices, Couture said.
"Faculty recruitment is extremely competitive. The grant will allow us to build relationships with the most talented people in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields around the nation. We'll have the opportunity to show them that UNL provides the support they need to succeed in their careers," Chancellor Harvey Perlman said.
Current as well as new faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will benefit from additional professional development opportunities and informal mentoring workshops where high-level female faculty will discuss their paths to success. Ideas for these activities, which will be open to all faculty, were generated through surveys and forums in which more than 100 faculty participated, Holmes said.
This effort to encourage a more diverse faculty will help enhance UNL's strong reputation in academics as well as research, Couture said. "Encouraging more diversity definitely will benefit our students. A great team of researchers made this grant possible and we're very excited about this opportunity."
Besides Couture and Holmes, a team of UNL faculty and administrators will work together to ensure the Nebraska-ADVANCE program opportunities are incorporated campuswide.
Throughout the grant, Assistant Professor of Sociology Christina Falci and her colleagues will conduct cutting-edge research to determine whether ADVANCE programs affect the professional and social networks of female faculty in UNL's science, technology, engineering and mathematics departments and enhance academic success.
Cultivating a world-class and broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce for the nation is one of NSF's goals. Since its inception in 2001, ADVANCE program grants have been successful at 30 other major universities, including Arizona, Colorado, Cornell, Iowa State, Michigan and Wisconsin.
"UNL is in good company. This is one way we can do our part to help develop a more diverse workforce in the science and engineering fields and attract the best, most talented people to UNL," said Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and economic development.
"We celebrate receipt of a $3.8 million five-year ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation. This grant will allow us to develop programs to recruit, promote and retain female faculty in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, commonly referred to as STEM disciplines. Improvement in climate, in dual-career hiring and other practices means improvement for all individuals at the university. I wholeheartedly endorse the activities this grant will promote."
- Harvey Perlman, Chancellor
"The ADVANCE-Nebraska initiative will help us foster excellence by enhancing diversity. Through diversity, we have the broadest range of talent and experiences brought to the table to foster innovation and discovery."
- Prem Paul, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
"Our number 1 goal is to make UNL a place where all people can reach their highest potential and be successful in their chosen fields. One way to do that, is to increase the number of women faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. A unique facet of our project is our intention to conduct innovative research on what network structures best support the success of women faculty in STEM disciplines and what factors develop supportive networks. Again, this knowledge will benefit all faculty."
- Barbara Couture, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
UNL receives $3.8 million to support women in science
A $3.8 million National Science Foundation grant will help the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recruit, promote and retain female faculty in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
A $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recruit, promote and retain women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, UNL announced Tuesday.
Women now comprise less than 20 percent of faculty in those disciplines. Nationally, women comprise 29 percent of science and engineering faculty at four-year colleges and universities, according to the NSF.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/09/02/news/local/doc48bd5992078fa008533912.txt
Federal grant to be used to attract female science faculty to UNL
LINCOLN, NE(2008-09-02)UNL officials say they hope to attract more female math and science professors with the help of a $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Visit this link for the full story:
http://publicbroadcasting.net/netradio/news/content/1355678.html

