Professor Margaret Eisenhart of the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education will deliver the 96th annual Distinguished Research Lecture on Monday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in Fiske Planetarium.
The lecture, titled "Anthropologist of Education in America: A Life of Three-Sided Rooms," is free and open to the public. The talk is sponsored by the Council on Research and Creative Work through the CU-Boulder Graduate School and will be followed by a reception.
The Distinguished Research Lectureship is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member by the Graduate School. Its purpose is to honor an entire body of research and creative work, typically over a three-decade period.
"My talk will cover highlights of what I have learned about American culture and American women while working as an anthropologist observing our society primarily in schools," Eisenhart said.
Eisenhart is a professor of educational anthropology and research methodology. Throughout her research career she has studied culture, gender relations, women in science, and women's experiences and achievement in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, universities and workplaces.
Among her most important research is her 1990 study "Educated in Romance: Women, Achievement and College Culture." For the study, Eisenhart followed a group of 23 freshmen women through college to determine their career ambitions. She found that two-thirds of the women either abandoned their career aspirations before leaving college or subordinated their careers to their relationships with men.
She currently is involved in several community education projects, including Simply the Best!, an after-school science and technology program for middle school girls that she began in 1999 in the Five Points neighborhood in downtown Denver. The program's goals are to cultivate an interest in science among minority girls, while providing them with training in basic and sophisticated technology skills to increase their ability to succeed in school and the workplace after completing their education.
Eisenhart is a member of numerous professional organizations in educational anthropology and educational research. She was the 2001 recipient of the Elizabeth Gee Award for outstanding contributions to research, teaching and service for women.