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“The solution was always inside us”: Life lessons from an engineer’s career in global development
Prof. Tracy Kijewski-Correa shares her experiences and insight on the important role that academic engineers can play in addressing poverty and the needs of at-risk populations across the globe.

Learning from our retirement experiences: timing and preparation
Like any other transition in life, retirement requires good navigation. Here, we offer some of our own experiences and advice to help you prepare for a smooth and effective retirement.

A Guide to Surviving and Transforming Academia for the Benefit of All
Authors Roberta Hawkins and Leslie Kern discuss how they came to write their 2024 book Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University and how they hope that the recommendations in their book will improve academia.

Why STEMM leaders need to talk seriously about ethics
Are we, as academics, sufficiently willing to engage with our colleagues on issues of ethics and behavior? As women leaders in STEMM, how does this affect us and what are our responsibilities?

How becoming a mother made me a better professor
While becoming a mother presents many challenges to a successful academic career, we should not lose sight of the potential career-related benefits for women who choose motherhood.

A Trip to Paris and the Rights of Women in STEMM
During a meeting in Paris last fall, we were inspired to draft A Declaration of the Rights of Women and Girls in STEMM in hopes of building a modern system that uplifts everyone.

A university president must act responsibly and consequentially
Prof. Ulrike Beisiegel recounts how her academic career, including her many advisory roles, prepared her to be the first female President of the University of Göttingen in Germany.

What we can learn from “The Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly”
It’s not just STEMM fields that present major challenges for women in academia and systemic roadblocks to success. We need to learn from and support our sisters in the arts and humanities.


Preparing to lead effectively through emerging challenges
Leadership is always dynamic, never static. Here are some ideas for how a leader can prepare for, identify, and respond effectively to emerging challenges and, ideally, turn them into opportunities.

A male ally with experience in academics, the military, and business describes how women in STEMM exemplify leadership
Former professor, retired Lieutenant General, and current entrepreneur and board member Jeffrey Talley explains how and why women in STEMM can be great leaders. He offers his unique insight into supporting women in their leadership journeys.

Embarking on a new leadership position
Embarking upon a new leadership position is a challenging step in an academic STEMM career. Here are some tips for getting your ‘ducks are lined up in a row’.

The leadership experience in environmental consulting
Dr. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Haack describes why she chose a career in consulting after completing graduate studies and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She provides insight into how we can better prepare our graduates for the challenges and opportunities of careers outside of academia.

A STEMM woman’s guide to leadership characteristics and management skills
Developing strong leadership characteristics and management skills is akin to making sure you are equipped with the right shoes before embarking on a challenging but rewarding new leadership journey

“The Moment of Lift” by Melinda Gates
While “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World” (2019) focuses primarily on philanthropy aimed at helping poor women and families, it contains many valuable lessons for women leaders everywhere, including in academia and tech.

“I continue to have new ideas that excite me:” Experience as a senior academic leader and entrepreneur in STEMM
A Professor of Ophthalmology with decades of leadership experience in academia co-founded a Biotech start-up. She shares her career story, offering advice on leadership training, persevering, and finding the right career path.

Gender and bullying in the academic workplace
This guest post addresses the uncomfortable reality that women sometimes engage in academic bullying of their female colleagues.

Summer break and a call for contributions
We’re taking a short summer break but will return on July 23rd. We already have some great interviews and articles lined up for the coming months. But, if you’d like to contribute a post or have suggestions of topics you’d like to hear about, please email co-editors Janet Hering and Patricia Maurice at: epistimiblog@gmail.com

Nominating women in STEMM for awards
Awards and professional honors are important for visibility and career advancement. We can’t win awards if we’re not nominated. So let’s make that happen.

Senior women leaders can bring a wealth of experience from academia to funding agencies
Xiaobo ‘Sharon’ Hu, a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, shares observations and advice based on her service as an IPA program director ‘rotator’ at the U.S. National Science Foundation