The Forum for Women in Science provides an umbrella for exploring a wide variety of issues concerning women in science. Our largest undertaking to date was the Workshop on Gender Issues in the Sciences, held at Colby in June 2003. Participants from around the country met to discuss issues such as gender bias in teaching evaluations, balancing a career with other facets of life, gender issues in the classroom, and mentoring. See the link below for our webpage on this workshop. Other events planned by the Forum include visits by Dr. Bernice Sandler in 2001 on the chilly classroom climate and by Dr. Suzanna Rose in 2002, outside speakers, and discussions on a variety of topics of interest to women (and men) in science. The Forum is open to all members of the Colby community although it most actively serves students, faculty, and staff in the sciences.

Members of the Forum were intimately involved in the preparation of the 1999 Plan for the Sciences to Begin the New Millennium, produced collaboratively by many representatives of the Natural Sciences Division. This document contained several suggestions for ways that the College could support women in scientific careers. The Forum also was significant in setting the direction of Colby's successful proposal to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 1999, which provided $53,000 for a continuation of science-and-gender-related activities that build on the work-to-date of the Forum for Women in Science. In addition to a series of gender workshops, the highly successful alumni career panel has been an annual event, funded by the institutional HHMI grant, as was the workshop on gender issues (see link below). The group continues to grow and to attempt to increase the visibility of Colby women in the sciences.

Members of the Forum for Women in Science