April 1, 2003

Contact: Victor Bailey, Hall Center for the Humanities, (785) 864-7822.

Feminist Sue Rosser to discuss women in higher education April 10 at KU

LAWRENCE -- Sue Rosser, dean of the Ivan Allen College at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, will be the fifth presenter in the "Understanding the Pipeline" series at the University of Kansas. The free, public event will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Malott Room of the Kansas Union.

Rosser's presentation, "Key Barriers for Institutions Seeking to Retain Women Scientists and Engineers: Using POWRE to ADVANCE," will examine the benefits and complications of Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) and of Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE), two grant programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Rosser is no stranger to women's issues in the sciences. She has firsthand experience with the POWRE and ADVANCE programs and has edited collections and written extensively on the problems of women and science and women's health. Rosser has written several books, including "Teaching Science and Health from a Feminist Perspective," "Female Friendly Science" and "Women, Science and Society: The Crucial Union."

The "Understanding the Pipeline" series is a collaborative effort of the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Policy Research Institute, both at KU. The goal of the series is to promote dialogue and stimulate research about the issues of women and minorities in academia and research-related fields, particularly those pertaining to science and technology. Previous events this semester have studied gender and the high-tech job market and evidence for discrimination in academia.