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As women in Purdue Agriculture grew in number, they banded together to share common experiences and problems, forming the Women in Agriculture Faculty group. Organized in the early 1990s, the group is part support network and part forum to discuss gender-related issues.
Suzanne Nielsen, professor and department head of food science, started the group at the urging of then dean Victor Lechtenberg and served as its chair for a decade. "Organizing the group was one step in making Purdue Agriculture a better environment for women faculty," Nielsen says. "We especially tried to make it a good option as new women joined the faculty."
Representatives from the group are now among the standing committees that interview candidates for senior-level administrative positions in Purdue Agriculture. "It's a chance to get candidates' opinions on gender-related and diversity issues, and find out what they have done in their career to address these issues," says Natalie Carroll, associate professor of youth development and agricultural education, who co-chairs the group with Linda Mason, entomology, and Joan Fulton, agricultural economics. "Some issues are the same for men and women faculty, but others are specific to women," she says.
In 2002, Purdue Agriculture joined with the colleges of Engineering and Science to sponsor annual forums for faculty and staff on gender issues and diversity.
Virginia Ferris, professor of entomology and the first woman appointed to the Purdue Agriculture faculty, often has been called upon to speak about the role of women in science and academia. From time to time, she shares anecdotes of her early experiences with the group. "They find the stories hard to believe," says Ferris. But the adversity she faced was always outweighed by the satisfaction she took from her work.
Always optimistic, Ferris believed her pioneer role was to pave the way for those coming after her. It's an outlook that she thinks has been justified. "Women have proven themselves—there's no question about it."
Related link:
Diversity in Agriculture
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