Inventors Digest magazine has chosen six young scientists as the nation’s top new inventors. Included in the group are two women undergraduate students.
Eden Full is taking two years off from her studies at Princeton University under a Thiel Fellowship to develop her solar energy company, Roseicollis Technologies. She has developed a solar panel rotating system that tracks the sun to optimize energy collection by up to 40 percent. Sophisticated solar panel tracking devices cost as much as $1,000. Full’s trackers costs $10.
Lexi Hamsmith is a first-year student at Northwestern University who plans to major in chemical engineering. She works with dogs who help people with disabilities. She is researching ways to relieve joint pressure on dogs, and to help dogs pull wheelchairs in straight lines. She has also developed a “pooper scooper” that enables disabled people to clean up after their dogs.
Anna Krylova, an associate professor of history at Duke University, was awarded the Herbert Bazter Prize from the American Historical Association. The prize, established in 1905, is awarded to a young scholar for a first work in the field of European history. Dr. Krylova was honored for her book, 
Beverly D. Tatum, president of Spelman College in Atlanta, received a PINK Award from Little PINK Book, an online digital platform aimed at professional women. President Tatum was honored for her career-long commitment to women’s advancement.
Myra M. Hurt, professor of biomedical sciences and senior associate dean for research and graduate programs at the College of Medicine of Florida State University, received the Jim King Leadership Award from the Center for Universal Research to Eradicate Disease.
Theresa Monaco, executive director of the Center for the Gifted and Talented at the University of Houston, was selected to receive the George Washington Honor Medal, the highest award given out by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. Dr. Monaco was honored for her extraordinary efforts to educate the communities about the values of good citizenship.
Kelly Lytle Hernandez, associate professor of history at the University of California at Los Angeles, received the William P. Clements Prize for the best nonfiction book on Southwestern America. The $2,500 prize is awarded by Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Graciela S. Alarcon, the Jane Knight Lowe Chair of Medicine (Emerita) and professor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, received the 2011 Evelyn V. Hess Research Award from the Lupus Foundation of America. Dr. Alarcon was honored for a lifetime of achievement in lupus research.
Gloria J. Ladson-Billings, the Kellner Family Professor of Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin, was named the recipient of the 2012 Brock International Prize in Education Laureate. She is being honored for “pioneering the adoption of culturally responsive teaching strategies among educators.” She will receive the award next March at ceremonies on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
Linda LeGarde Grover, an associate professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, received the 2011 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize from the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Rochester. The $7,500 prize was awarded to professor Grover for her collection of short stories entitled 
From time to time, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. The links presented direct the reader to articles from many different points of view that deal with issues of women in higher education. The articles selected in no way reflect the views of the editorial board of WIAReport.
Nationwide, women make up a solid majority of all enrollments in higher education. But at the University of Michigan, there are more men than women and the gap appears to be increasing.
Five women faculty members at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, received a three-year, $580,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to the support their Women in Science Education (WISE) initiative. The WISE program will sponsor career development programs and research opportunities for women faculty at the College of William and Mary, Thomas Nelson Community College, Richard Bland College, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Under the grant, four symposia will be held each year as well as an annual leadership forum and retreat.
Persis S. Drell, director of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, has announced that she will step down as soon as a successor can be found to replace her. SLAC, formerly known as the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy. It is a multipurpose facility conducting research in astrophysics, photon science, and particle physics. Dr. Drell will return to teaching as a member of the faculty of Stanford University.
Professor Drell joined the staff at SLAC in 2002 as director of research and has served as director since 2007. She was on the faculty of Cornell University from 1988 to 2002.
Karen F. Steckol, professor of communicative disorders at the University of Alabama, has died after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 62 years old.
Rafia Zafar was named associate dean for diversity and inclusiveness at the university’s Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Zafar joined the Washington University faculty in 1998 and now serves as professor of English, professor of African and African-American studies, and professor of American culture studies.
Jacaranda van Rheenen was appointed assistant dean for graduate student affairs, a new position at the university. She was a postdoctoral recruiter for academic programs in biomedical sciences at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Anna Maria Kelley is a third-year Ph.D. student at Michigan State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Michigan State in 2001. Her research is focused on adverse drug effects associated with drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment in patients with HIV.
Luz Huntington-Moskos is a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She worked in the Peace Corps in Malawi from 1994 to 1996 and earned a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota. Her dissertation is on tobacco exposure and cardiovascular risk among rural adolescents.
Carolina E. Noya is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of California at San Francisco. She holds master’s degrees from Michigan State University and the University of California at San Francisco. She has been a practicing nurse practitioner for the past decade.
Patty R. Wilson is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Virginia. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Maryland. She is a clinical instructor in community/public health at Johns Hopkins University. Her research is focused on African-American victims of intimate partner violence.
Cyndi Stivers has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journalism Review. She recently was managing editor of EW.com the website of Entertainment Weekly. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School. Stivers is past president of the American Society of Magazine Editors and is a trustee of her alma mater, Barnard College.
Bonnie Newman Davis was named to the News & Record-Janice Bryant Howroyd Endowed Professorship in the department of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She was an associate professor of journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University. Previously, she was director of university communications at Virginia Union University in Richmond. Professor Davis has professional experience with a large number of newspapers, particularly the Richmond-Times Dispatch and the Richmond News Leader.
Jeryl C. Jones was appointed editor-in-chief of Veterinary Radiation and Ultrasound, the journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology. Dr. Jones is a professor of veterinary radiology at West Virginia University. She joined the faculty at WVA this past summer after teaching at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech since 1995.
Kathleen Valentine was named director of the center. She also is the director of the university’s Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center.
Eugenia Millender was named clinical director of the center. She is a psychiatric and mental health family nurse practitioner.
Sandra Mims Rowe was named the Edith Kinney Gaylord Visiting Professor in Journalism Ethics at Arizona State University. This spring she will teach courses on ethics and diversity in journalism at the university’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Rowe is the former editor of the Portland Oregonian.
Katrina Ligett is a new assistant professor of economics and computer science at the California Institute of Technology. She is an expert in algorithmic game theory.
Jennifer Osipoff was appointed assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York.
Dana Neelis was named assistant professor of radiology in the department of small animal clinical services at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. She recently completed her residency at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University.
Linda Silver Coley was appointed chair of the department of marketing, transportation, and supply chain at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She is an associate professor in the department.
Nicole Mitchell was named director of the University of Washington Press, effective in January. The University of Washington Press is housed within the university’s graduate school. Since 2000, Mitchell has been the director of the University of Georgia Press.
Valerie Gillispie is the new university archivist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She was the assistant university archivist at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Lisa Gueldenzoph Snyder, a professor and chair of the department of business education at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, was elected vice president of Delta Pi Epsilon, an honorary society for teachers of business. She will serve two years as vice president and then is scheduled to serve two years as president of the organization.
Christine M. Pina was appointed vice president for institutional advancement at the University of Hartford. She has been serving as director of major gifts at Wesleyan University. Her new appointment is effective on November 28.
Tanise Chung-Hoon was named executive director of LDS Philanthropies at Brigham Young University. LDS Philanthropies is the fundraising arm of the Church of Latter-day Saints.
Kimberly Gordon was promoted to assistant dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She was assistant to the dean for development and placement.
Rosemary Scanlon, director of academic affairs and a clinical associate professor of economics at the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University, was named interim division dean at the institute. She joined the institute in 2000. Previously, she was a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics. From 1993 to 1997, Scanlon was the deputy comptroller for the State of New York.
Sandy Kirchenmann was appointed executive director of the Sacramento Center for Graduate Studies of Drexel University. She has been serving as vice chancellor for resource development for the Los Rios Community College District. Her new appointment is effective on December 12.
1. Declining enrollments.
Andrea Stouder Pursley, executive director of the Sanford Education Project of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, is the recipient of the Athena Young Professional Award from the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. The project, funded by an $18.9 million grant from entrepreneur T. Denny Sanford, has developed a teacher preparation program based on concepts used by Teach for America.
From time to time, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. The links presented direct the reader to articles from many different points of view that deal with issues of women in higher education. The articles selected in no way reflect the views of the editorial board of WIAReport.
Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles was awarded a five-year, $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for programs to increase the number of Hispanic and low-income women in STEM fields. The funds will be used to renovate five classrooms into high-tech science and mathematics centers. Other funds will be earmarked for faculty development, summer workshops, and counseling and advising services for students.
Joyce Ester was named president of Kennedy-King College, one of the seven campuses of the City Colleges of Chicago. The appointment is effective in December. Women make up two thirds of the total enrollments at the college and the vast majority of students are African Americans.
Jacqueline P. Williams, research professor of radiation oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center of the University of Rochester, was named Williams Chair of the Scientific Research Council of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. She was also inducted as a fellow of the society at its annual meeting in Miami Beach. The society has more than 10,000 members.
Doris Helmich was named interim president of Central Arizona College in Coolidge. She was serving as vice president for student services and dean of students at the college. She joined the administration at the college in 2001 as director of student success. Prior to coming to Arizona, Dr. Helmich was assistant to the vice president for student affairts at Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Kim Schatzel was named provost and vice president at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Her appointment is effective on January 3. She is currently dean of the College of Business at the University of Michigan at Dearborn. In her new post, she will earn an annual salary of $275,000.
Northwestern University is expanding its childcare facilities for working parents to help students, faculty, and staff. A new center will open near the Evanston, Illinois, campus. The center will offer childcare services to up to 60 youngsters from six weeks to five years old. Some 20 spaces will be allocated for infants. Priority will be given for children of staff and faculty. Also in Evanston, Northwestern also hopes to increase capacity for its YMCA Children’s Center which now enrolls 105 children of faculty, staff, and students.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has issued a report finding widespread sexual harassment on the campus of the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
Elizabeth Broderick, sex discrimination commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, stated in a news conference that there was a “warrior culture” at the academy. “The research suggests that in those circumstances, it will be more difficult for women,” she said. Commissioner Broderick also stated that it was her view a culture of alcohol consumption at the academy contributed to the situation.
Charmayne Cullom, professor of computer information systems at the Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Information Management Association.
Mary Papazian, provost and senior vice president at Lehman College in The Bronx. New York, is one of three finalists for the presidency of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. She has been provost at Lehman College since July 2007. Previously, she was dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and a professor of English at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Recently, a large group of women chemists from the United States and China met for a three-day conference in Beijing. The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Committee on the Advancement of Women in Chemistry (COACh) at University of Oregon. The conference was held at the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.