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The annual Distinguished Women in Science Lecture Series, presented by the , is coming in the form of a half-day symposium this year, “ADVANCEing STEM Faculty at ΢����Ƶ.”

ADVANCE is a National Science Foundation program to boost the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in academic STEM careers: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

With a , ΢����Ƶ has established its own ADVANCE Program — one that focuses in particular on increasing the representation of Latinas in STEM.

΢����Ƶ ADVANCE is co-sponsoring next week's symposium: 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday (April 25) in Ballroom A at the Activities and Recreation Center.

The organizers said the symposium, for faculty, administrators and students, will address the national imperative for a diverse STEM faculty, the role the NSF ADVANCE Program plays in meeting that challenge, and the specific aims of the ΢����Ƶ ADVANCE Program.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, principal investigator for ΢����Ƶ ADVANCE, will give the keynote address: “Advancing STEM Research Through Diversity.” The program also includes two panels.

The first panel, “NSF ADVANCE: Goals, Impact and Future,” comprises one ΢����Ƶ professor (who serves as a vice provost at the UC Office of the President), and professors from the universities of Michigan and Maryland. The panelists and their topics:

• Abigail Stewart — “The History, Goals and impact of NSF ADVANCE.” Stewart is a professor of psychology and women’s studies, and director of ADVANCE at the University of Michigan.
• Susan Carlson — “The Investment NSF ADVANCE Has Made in UC.” Carlson is vice provost of Academic Personnel, UC Office of the President, and a professor of English, ΢����Ƶ; and principal investigator on the NSF ADVANCE grant “Meeting the California Challenge.
• Ruth Zambrana — “Historically Underrepresented Minority Women in the Academy: An Essential Focus for NSF ADVANCE.” Zambrana is a professor of women’s studies, and director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The second panel, “ADVANCE Institutional Transformation at ΢����Ƶ,” comprises three ΢����Ƶ faculty members, two of whom are administrators. The panelists and their topics:

• Kimberlee Shauman — “The State of STEM Faculty at ΢����Ƶ.” Shauman is a professor of sociology.
• Adela de la Torre — “The Importance of the Focus on Latinas.” De la Torre is interim vice chancellor, Student Affairs, and a professor of Chicana/o studies.
• Maureen Stanton — “΢����Ƶ ADVANCE Goals and Primary Initiatives.” She is vice provost, Academic Affairs, and a professor of evolution and ecology.