The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM) recognizes the vital role women play in the continued growth of STEM-based careers, where they are under-represented despite comprising more than half the population. USFSM is helping to address this shortfall by creating Women in STEM, a committee made up of successful women who will become role models, mentors, advocates and fund raisers for a proposed new Integrated Science and Technology Complex (ISTC). Women in STEM committee members will encourage girls and young women to pursue opportunities in STEM and support the development of ISTC, a state-of-the-art, multipurpose building that will produce career-ready science and technology graduates with the skills and knowledge to help businesses thrive.

“Many young women have a strong interest in the STEM fields but are not encouraged to pursue these careers. With the right role models, internship opportunities and scholarships, they will excel,” says USFSM Campus Board member Dr. Anila Jain, who along with Regional Chancellor Karen A. Holbrook, Ph.D., will lead Women in STEM. Jain and Holbrook share a vision for ISTC as a purpose-driven, dynamic and revolutionary facility with learning and career preparation aligned in new and innovative ways, and as a pathway for women to close the gap in STEM-based programs and careers. The need for such a facility is critical to USFSM’s role as a research and economic driver in the communities it serves. “To attract more talented faculty, we need state-of-the-art facilities,” USFSM Campus Board Chair Byron Shinn says. “With those, students will flock here, and businesses will follow.”

Achievements

• USFSM Regional Chancellor Karen A. Holbrook, Ph.D., and Campus Board Member Dr. Anila Jain have joined to create Women in STEM, a committee of role models, mentors, advocates and fundraisers to inspire girls and young women to pursue STEM careers.
• Dr. Holbrook began her career in higher education as an active biomedical researcher and NIH MERIT Award investigator, and in 2002 she became the first female president of The Ohio State University.
• Dr. Jain is a physician and medical consultant in Manatee County who is a founding member and chair of USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy.
• The word “Integrated” in the name of the new ISTC building was carefully chosen to express the interdependence of scientific, engineering and technology fields combined with social and humanistic disciplines.

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee
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