SWS was established in the Fall of 2004 (originally named Senior Women in Science) and consisted of both a networking and social role and advocacy role within the University. Its initial members included full and associate female professors who were regular faculty in the Natural Sciences. The ultimate goal of SWS was to improve the climate for all women scientists at Duke, including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. This included promoting gender equality in salaries, eliminating unconscious bias in faculty searches, instituting more vigorous efforts to retain women faculty, creating departmental climates welcoming to women faculty, and obtaining a critical mass of women faculty in science departments. Led by co-conveners and an advisory committee, the SWS organized events and served as a platform for advocating and improving the climate for all women scientists at Duke. (View a PDF archive of our previous website.)
In February 2020, SWS changed its name to the Society for Women in Science to make it clear that its events are open to all women scientists at all career stages from all STEM disciplines. We hope to build a supportive community and celebrate the engagement and contributions of women scientists. Although the current scope of the SWS consists of the monthly distinguished lecture and lunch series, we welcome the addition of community members to our team to grow the advocacy arm of the SWS.
Co-conveners/organizers of SWS
- 2004-2007: Naomi Quinn (Cultural Anthropology), Roxanne Springer (Physics)
- 2007-2008: Naomi Quinn (Cultural Anthropology), Christina Williams (Psychology and Neuroscience)
- 2008- 2009: Dalene Stangl (Statistics), Susan Rodger (Computer Science)
- 2009-2010: Christine Drea (Evolutionary Anthropology) Marcy Uyenoyama (Biology)
- 2010-2011: Roxanne Springer (Physics), Christina Williams (Psychology and Neuroscience)
- 2011-2014: Dalene Stangl (Statistics) Kate Scholberg (Physics)
- 2014-2018: Anita Layton (Mathematics), Kathy Franz (Chemistry)
- 2018-2023: Roxanne Springer (Physics), Lillian Pierce (Mathematics), Kathy Peterson (Rhodes iiD)
- 2023-2024: Janice Crawford (Biology), Fan Li (Statistics), Kathy Peterson (Rhodes iiD)
- 2024-2025: Janice Crawford (Biology), Di Fang (Mathematics), Kathy Peterson (Rhodes iiD)
Past Advisory Committee Members
(alphabetical order)
Merlise Clyde (Statistics), Ingrid Daubechies (Mathematics), Christine Drea (Evolutionary Anthropology), Kathy Franz (Chemistry), Anita Layton (Mathematics), Lillian Pierce (Mathematics), Anne Pusey (Evolutionary Anthropology), Naomi Quinn (Cultural Anthropology), Susan Rodger (Computer Science), Louise Roth (Biology), Kate Scholberg (Physics), Barbara Shaw (Chemistry), Dalene Stangl (Statistical Science), Roxanne Springer (Physics), Xiaobai Sun (Computer Science), Marcy Uyenoyama (Biology), Christina Williams (Psychology & Neuroscience)
