Mom the Chemistry Professor

When is the 'right' time? How can I meet the demands of a professorship whilst caring for a young family? Choosing to become a mother has a profound effect on the career path of women holding academic positions, especially in the physical sciences. Yet many women successfully manage to do both. In this book 15 inspirational personal accounts describe the challenges and rewards of combining motherhood with an academic career in chemistry. The authors are all women at different stages of their career and from a range of colleges, in tenure and non-tenure track positions. Aimed at undergraduate and graduate students of chemistry, these contributions serve as examples for women considering a career in academia but worry about how this can be balanced with other important aspects of life. The authors describe how they overcame particular challenges, but also highlight aspects of the systems which could be improved to accommodate women academics and particularly encourage more women to take on academic positions in the sciences.

Dr. Kimberly Woznack is an Associate Professor at California University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Woznack served as the Chair of the Department of Chemistry & Physics from 2011-2014. Dr. Woznack has been a proud member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Women's Consortium since 2005. Dr. Woznack has been an Associate Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemist Committee (WCC) since 2011. Dr. Woznack, her husband and two sons, live in south western Pennsylvania.

Dr. Renee Cole is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Iowa.  Dr. Cole has served as a Councilor for the Division of Chemical Education since 2011 and as an Associate Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemists Committee (WCC) since 2012. Dr. Cole is also an associate editor for the Journal of Chemical Education. She is actively involved in the POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) project at a national and international level.  Her research focuses on issues related to how students learn chemistry and how that guides the design of instructional materials and teaching strategies as well on efforts related to faculty development and the connection between chemistry education research and the practice of teaching. She and her husband and daughter live in Eastern Iowa.

Dr. Cecilia Marzabadi is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Seton Hall University. She served as Associate Chair and Director of Graduate Studies for the department from 2009-2013. She also served as the Acting Director for the Elizabeth Ann Seton Center for Women's Studies from 2005-2006 and was a Clare Boothe Luce Professor between 1999-2004. She is an Alternate Councilor for the North Jersey Section of the ACS and was Chair of the section's Organic Topical Group in 2003-2004. Dr. Marzabadi has been an Associate Member of the American Chemical Society's Women Chemist Committee since 2013. She and her husband reside in north eastern New Jersey. Her research interests are in synthetic organic and carbohydrate chemistry and in the promotion and retention of women in the STEM fields.

Dr. Gail Webster is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. She is a member of the American Association of University Women, the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is a member of the Women Chemists Committee (WCC). She has served on the WCC since 2007. Dr. Webster is involved in developing student-centered pedagogy for the POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) Project. She's facilitated numerous workshops for the organization and is a member of the POGIL Project Steering Committee. Dr. Webster, her husband and two daughters reside in the central piedmont region of North Carolina.