Purdue has had ten male presidents in the past 135 years, and on Monday (May 7), trustees voted to hire the first woman president, France A. Cordova.
Her record is impressive:
“I will never forget the day Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969,” Córdova said, recalling it was the same year she graduated cum laude with a degree in English from Stanford University. “It eventually drew me to the California Institute of Technology, where I began exploring the mysteries of the universe. And now I’ve come full circle – to Purdue, the cradle of astronauts and the place that played a major role in launching my quest.”
After earning her doctorate in physics from Cal Tech in 1979, Córdova spent the next decade at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a member of the Space Astronomy and Astrophysics Group. She then joined Penn State University to head the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
In 1993, she began work at NASA, serving as the primary scientific adviser to the NASA administrator and the principal interface between NASA headquarters and the broader scientific community. During this time, she served on the National Science and Technology Council’s Fundamental Science Committee.
Córdova, 59, has served at [University of California] Riverside since 2002, coming from the University of California at Santa Barbara where she had been vice chancellor for research and a professor of physics for six years. Before that, she was the youngest person to hold the position of NASA chief scientist, working on projects that included the Hubble Space Telescope.
She is the winner of NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, and was recognized as a 2000 Kilby Laureate for “contributions to society through science, technology, innovation, invention and education.”
She was the award-winning author in 1969 of a work of fiction, “The Women of Santo Domingo,” based on her anthropologic field work in a Zapotec Indian pueblo in Oaxaca, Mexico, and a Zapotec Indian cookbook. For that, she won a guest editorship with Mademoiselle magazine and the opportunity to write a feature travel article on Israel. She also wrote and edited for the Los Angeles Times News Service.
In 1984, Córdova was named one of “America’s 100 Brightest Scientists Under 40.” Córdova has earned numerous other recognitions. She was named one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business Magazine, which also recognized her with the Hispanic Achievement Award in Science and Technology.
She is a distinguished professor at UC Riverside, where she teaches astrobiology. She is a member of numerous professional associations and currently serves on the boards of directors for the American Council on Education and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. In 1997, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.
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Now all we need are more tenured women professors.
“Now all we need are more tenured women professors.”
I agree, totally. I didn’t intend for it to be a political statement, and indeed, I didn’t think of it at all until someone else pointed out how weird it was, but all three professors on my thesis committee were women. Even the fourth professor, who I considered but decided not to ask to join, was also a woman. Three of them are tenured.
It’s really interesting that, just going off-hand, I’d estimate about 40% and no more than 50% of my courses were taught by men, through both my BA and MA program. Not saying there’s not a larger systemic problem, but I think you can find cases where, in fact, there’s quite a bit of parity, and hopefully, France will continue this push. I’m really humbled by and proud of the professors I’ve been able to work with. I get a sense that Purdue has some very good years ahead, and in that respect, I hope I can continue to look back on the institution with pride.
Within my sociology program, most of my professors were men; in women’s studies they were all women — not many of them had tenure.
I, too, have enjoyed many professors at Purdue.
For what it is worth (which might not be much), I heard from a friend that at Cordova’s previous institution she was met with student and faculty petitions — they didn’t want her to leave. I haven’t been able to find any news articles, or any other articles, on this, though. Still, I great rumor to have circulating!