The Women of Color Conference is a must for students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Award programs held during the three-day event make up a big part of the annual forum.
This year, more than 300 women will be honored during the three-day event in Detroit, Michigan. You can also follow the proceedings on the WOC digital twin experience (DTX) platform. Click here to register.
The top award will go to Valerie Sheares Ashby. She will receive the Technologist of the Year Award. Here are 10 things to know about the 2022 winner.
1. Valerie Sheares Ashby received her B.A. and her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. Ashby began her tenure as president of The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) on Aug. 1, 2022.
2. She completed her postdoctoral research at the Universitat Mainz, Germany, in 1994 as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow and NATO postdoctoral fellow.
3. As a researcher, Ashby’s work focused on synthetic polymer chemistry with a present focus on designing and synthesizing materials for biomedical applications such as X-ray contrast agents and drug delivery materials.
4. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Development Award, the DuPont Young Faculty, and the 3M Young Faculty award.
5. As a faculty member at UNC, she held numerous leadership positions. She served on the UNC Arts & Sciences Foundation Board of Directors and the UNC Research Advisory Council, tasked with strategic planning on interdisciplinary research development.
6. She chaired the university’s Institutional Conflict of Interest Committee and the UNC College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Diversity Task Force. She served on the Executive Committee and advised the administration on aligning university priorities with the university mission. As the Chemistry Department’s director of undergraduate studies, she engaged in all aspects of the undergraduate educational experience, including curriculum and advising.
7. She directed the UNC National Science Foundation Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, which aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented students completing doctoral degrees and continuing into the professoriate in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and social, behavioral, and economics (SBE) fields.
8. Ashby came to Duke from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she chaired the Department of Chemistry from 2012–2015.
9. As an educator, she was recognized with the UNC Chapel Hill General Alumni Association Faculty Service Award, the Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professorship for excellence in undergraduate teaching and research, the J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award, the UNC Student Undergraduate Teaching Award, and the Johnston Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching.
10. She helped raise a capital campaign with the help of Duke donors, alumni, family, and friends from $435 million to $480 million. The goal of financial aid was $150 million, and they raised close to $180 million.
