When Angelica Patterson became program manager for the department of environmental science at Barnard College, the undergraduate women’s college of Columbia University, she saw very few fellow women of color in her department.
Now, two years later, “I have noticed a few more faces. I don’t know if it’s because I’m there,” she said. “Those students of color who are interested come to my office.”
Patterson recently convened a panel of prestigious women who work in the sciences to discuss “Breaking Down Barriers: Women and Their Experiences in the Sciences.” The unquestionable consensus was students have to have a support system. “There needs to be people available for students to relate to,” said Patterson.
“It is hard to get reaffirmed. Often you don’t have somebody of similar experience to talk to,” said Dr. Alison Williams, professor of chemistry at Princeton University. “Thank goodness for e-mails and phones, because I have friends and colleagues all over.”
Dr. Nkechi Agwu, a professor of mathematics at Borough of Manhattan Community College, said it is important to have mentors and to be a mentor, but also mentioned the importance of finding the balance between mentoring and doing the things an individual in academia needs to do to advance her own career.
“Mentoring is not valued,” Agwu said, “so you have to balance mentoring with what gets you promoted.”
What is needed is a change in the value system, where mentoring is given more weight, so that current professors don’t have to consider their own professional growth over those coming after them, said Agwu. Williams noted there is always a tug of war between supporting students and keeping the department chair happy.
Williams said that teachers have a tremendous amount of power that begins long before a student reaches college. Encouraging girls to pursue science and math or, more importantly, not discouraging them is something that must be instilled in teachers starting at the elementary level and most certainly in high school, where the foundations for college are laid.
