Loyola University New Orleans’ Women’s Resource Center will present “Breaking through the Science Glass Ceiling,” a lecture by Sue Rosser, Ph.D. on Tuesday March 29, 2005 at 7 p.m. in the Multimedia Room 2 in the Monroe Library on Loyola’s main campus, 6363 St. Charles Ave.

Rosser is dean of the Ivan Allen College at the Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the few female deans at a technology institution. “Breaking through the Science Glass Ceiling” is based on her five-year research on the pressures and difficulties women scientists face in pursuing careers in academia. Even though the number of women majoring in science and technology has increased since the 1960s, the percentage of those gaining advanced degrees and joining the academic community remains low. Rosser’s surveys of tenure-track women engineers and scientists between 1997 and 2000 showed consistently that the greatest challenge these women face is “balancing work with family responsibilities.” In her new book, The Science Glass Ceiling, Rosser identifies obstacles that prevent female scientists from advancing in academia and explores changes educational institutions can make to attract and retain more female scientists.

She received her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973. Her research focuses on the theoretical and applied problems of women, science, and technology and women’s health, and she has written more than 100 journal articles and has edited collections exploring these topics. She is the author of nine books and has received several grants from the National Science Foundation for research. She is a co-principal investigator to administer a $3.7 million award given to Georgia Tech by the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program, which funds institutions that develop policies and practices that will remove barriers faced by female faculty.