NDSU is participating in the ADVANCE Partnership Program called “Joining Forces,” a National Science Foundation-funded collaboration with Iowa State University, Michigan Technological University and Western Michigan University. The program is scheduled to host series of events, including a free viewing of the movie “Picture a Scientist” on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m.

The 97-minute film features:

• NDSU alumna Jane Willenbring, BS '99, earth science. She is an associate professor of geology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. 

• Nancy Hopkins, Agmen Professor of Biology Emerita, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Raychelle Burks, associate professor of chemistry, American University

The movie will be followed at 8 p.m. by a panel discussion including the project’s leadership team, a group of STEM scholars and educators from the three Midwestern partner institutions.

“The goal of this project is to increase retention and career advancement at Midwestern universities of underrepresented women and women with family responsibilities,” said Canan Bilen-Green, vice provost for faculty affair and equity. “We need to create and maintain supportive work environments where all of our students, faculty and staff thrive.”

Interested persons are asked to RSVP for the event. Registered participants will receive a calendar invitation and WebEx link a few days prior to the event.

The event is the first of a series of virtual workshops and webinars launching the Cross-Institutional Midwest Women Caucus. The next workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. when Donna Riley, Kamyar Haghighi Head of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University, will present “(Dis)credit: Erasure and Scrutiny of Women in STEM.”

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