Anne Yuska, former program director of the NorthStar STEM Alliance at the University of Minnesota, died April 30, at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul due to complications related to COVID-19 virus. She was 63 years old.
Yuska devoted much of her career to increasing the representation of women and people of color in science, technology, engineering, and math. Before joining the staff at the University of Minnesota in 2007, Yuska worked at science museums in Chicago and Indianapolis. She also served as head of museum programs at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
As the long-time director of the NorthStar STEM Alliance, Yuska led a partnership of Minnesota colleges, universities, and community organizations whose goal was to increase the number of women and students from underrepresented groups who obtained degrees in STEM disciplines. She retired in October 2019.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Yuska was a graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where she majored in biology. She held a master’s degree in botany from the University of California, Davis.