Three Women Scholars Announce Their Retirements From University Posts

Dianne Martin, vice provost for faculty affairs and a professor of computer science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will retire on August 31. She joined the faculty as an instructor of computer science in 1983. Early in her career, she work for IBM and was assigned to NASA to work on the Apollo moon program.

Dr. Martin is a graduate of what is now McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. She holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Maryland and a doctorate in teacher education from George Washington University.

Marsha Ternus will retire on June 1 from her position as director of The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Ternus has served in this role since 2013. She is the former chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court.

Ternus, who is a graduate of the Drake Law School, will continue on at the institute as chair of its National Advisory Council. She will continue to practice law in Des Moines.

Elizabeth A. Williams will retire from her position as professor of history at Oklahoma State University on June 1. Her research has focused on the history of medicine in modern Europe. Professor Williams is the author of several books including The Physical and the Moral: Anthropology, Physiology, and Philosophical Medicine in France, 1750-1850 (Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Dr. Williams joined the faculty at Oklahoma State University in 1986 and was promoted to full professor in 2002. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Professor Williams holds a master’s degree from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. from Indiana University.