Virginia Valian, a nationally renowned psychologist and author of the book "Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women" will speak March 7 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Valian, who will be on campus as a guest of CU-Boulder's Leadership Education for Advancement and Promotion program, or LEAP, and the Leeds School of Business, will speak at 2 p.m. in the business school, room 224. The event is free and open to the public.
"Dr. Valian is an expert on the influence of gender on the careers of men and women," said Patricia Rankin, a professor of physics at CU-Boulder, and the principal investigator of the grant that funds the LEAP program. "Her talk will review what is currently known about a variety of factors that can slow women's progress in the workplace."
Valian, whose research focuses on how children learn language, is a professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She also studies second language acquisition and sex differences in cognition.
"We are excited to co-sponsor this talk," said Steven Manaster, dean of the Leeds School of Business. "Dr. Valian's research on workplace inequality aligns with our commitment to integrate business and society."
The LEAP program began in January 2002 after CU-Boulder received a $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation in fall 2001. The program, which also received $900,000 in matching funds from CU-Boulder, is meant to help increase the number of women serving in leadership positions in science, mathematics, engineering and technology programs at the university, according to Rankin.
CU-Boulder was one of eight universities in 2001 to receive an NSF grant as part of the ADVANCE institutional transformation program. The awards are part of an effort by the foundation to diversify the scientific work force.