Women in STEM (WoSTEM) Lecture Series

The WoSTEM lecture series engages members of the community to share experiences and foster inspiration and camaraderie within fields where women and other gender minorities are historically underrepresented. The lecture series is spearheaded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and University Libraries. The series began with an effort from Fred Barnhart, dean of University Libraries with support from Dr. Warren Montgomery in honor of his late wife, Dr. Carla Montgomery.

The advisory panel for this project consists of women scientists, including Dr. Pallavi Singh (chair of the panel) and Dr. Heather Bergan Roller (Biological Sciences), Dr. Elizabeth R. Gaillard and Dr. Irinia Nesterova from Chemistry and Biochemistry, Dr. Allison Michaelis (Earth, Atmosphere and Environment), Elizabeth (Betsy) Sterner and Meredith Ayers (University Libraries).

Our mission is to engage with students, faculty, and members of the community but also to share their profound experiences. The advisory panel identifies prolific speakers to be featured in this series.

Previous Events

• In March 2024, we were pleased to welcome NIU President Lisa Freeman for an engaging and inspiring conversation at Founders Memorial Library.
• The fall 2023 seminar series featured a community-building event, providing a supportive environment for all participants.
  • Talk by Yvonne Harris (vice president of Research and Innovation Partnerships at NIU) on “My Journey to the Office of Vice President for Research”.
  • Talk by Nancy Freitag (professor and head of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UIC) on “No pain, no gain: how a common anesthetic increases the risk of microbial infection”.

Get Involved

Sign up for one of our WoSTEM events by contacting WoSTEM_info@mail.niu.edu and let us know if you have suggestions about future speakers, would like to join this community or would like to donate to the cause.