In the spring of 2019, climate science pioneer Warren Washington, who made history at Penn State in 1964 by becoming the second Black American to earn a doctorate in meteorology nationwide, had his name adorn a building at Penn State’s Innovation Park, the first to be named for a university innovator and pioneer.

Fittingly, the building houses the National Weather Service, an organization that uses weather and climate models pioneered by Washington while at Penn State and during his decades of service at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR.)

This weekend, Penn State held another building dedication for a Penn State alum who earned a doctorate in ecology in 1974. Shirley M. Malcom is described as an "influential scientist, and pioneering advocate for women of color in science."

“Honoring Penn State pioneers and innovators has long been a part of our institutional identity,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron in a statement. “In that spirit, I’m very pleased that the ‘329 Building’ will now be known as the ‘Shirley M. Malcom Building.’ As a noted scientist, a former presidential appointee, a leading advocate for representation in the sciences for women and girls of color, Dr. Malcom is an inspiration to those who follow in her footsteps.”

Malcom's pioneering work has helped open doors for women of color in the sciences. In 1976, she co-authored the landmark report, "The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science," which brought attention to the challenges of being a Black woman in the sciences.

Over her long career, Malcom has been a leader in efforts to improve access of girls and women to education and careers in the sciences and to increase the use of science and technology to empower women and address problems they face in their daily lives.

Malcom works at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she is a senior advisor to the CEO and director of the SEA Change program. She is a former member of the National Science Board and served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under former President Bill Clinton. She is a recipient of Penn State’s Distinguished Alumni Award as well as the Public Welfare Medal, the greatest honor given by the National Academy of Sciences to leaders who use science for the public good.

She serves as co-chair of the Gender Advisory Board of the U.N. Commission on Science & Technology for Development; and of Gender InSITE, a global campaign to improve the lives and status of girls and women.

Vice President for Outreach Tracey D. Huston noted that “For more than four decades, Dr. Malcom’s voice has amplified the importance of inclusion in fields where it has historically been underrepresented.”

“Dr. Malcom actively seeks to create environments that provide girls exposure to the sciences, with the goal of granting them the foundational knowledge they will need to thrive in higher education,” Huston said. “Penn State values and shares this commitment, recognizing how profoundly Dr. Malcom’s advocacy has strengthened the sciences over the long term. For that reason, Penn State Outreach, in collaboration with the Eberly College of Science, was delighted to nominate Shirley for this well-deserved honor.”

Tracy Langkilde, Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, said Malcom was instrumental in instituting the National Science Foundation’s Broader Impacts criteria, promoting the idea that policy change can promote access and inclusion as well as excellence in science.

“She has subsequently used her platform to develop programs that advance education in STEM, improve public understanding of science, and broaden the pool of talented scientists,” Langkilde said.

Malcom said she hoped she would be a role model in showing young people the many paths a career in science can take.

“It’s OK to use your science for a lot of different things,” she said. “It’s OK to dream and to try to make those dreams real, and not to be limited by what other people think of you or expect for you.”

Malcom grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where she attended segregated schools. She left the South to attend the University of Washington, where she received a bachelor’s in zoology, and UCLA, where she earned a master’s in zoology. At Penn State, she said she was deeply influenced by H.B. Graves, the professor who served as her doctoral adviser.

Graves was “a white guy from Mississippi,” Malcom said. “But because of his knowledge and understanding of the South, he got me. He understood that I was coming there with all kinds of challenges and experiences in terms of my early education. I will be forever grateful for someone who believed in me and saw me and challenged me to be whatever my best self was.”