18.1 Oceanography for Pdfs.Indd

WOMEN IN OCEANOGRAPHY An Experiment in Institutional Transformation THE NSF ADVANCE PROGRAM FOR WOMEN AT THE EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BY ROBIN BELL, JENNIFER LAIRD, STEPHANIE PFIRMAN, JOHN MUTTER, ROBERTA BALSTAD, AND MARK CANE Following the Civil War, women in New economic importance of the common companions turned the estate house York City began to clamor for advanced mineral found in building stones: The into a geochemistry laboratory and the education at Columbia University. Al- relative effects of frost and the sulphate swimming pool into a seismic vault, a though the professors of the classics felt soda tests on building stones.” In 1929, small group of women—including re- that women in the classroom were a Katharine Fowler was the fi rst woman to nowned oceanographic cartographer distraction, women were welcomed into receive her Ph.D. from Columbia Uni- Marie Tharp—were fi nding their niche geology, physics, and chemistry classes versity based on major geological fi eld- at the Observatory. Women are promi- (Rosenberg, 2004). For almost thirty work studying anorthosites in Laramie, nent in the early photographs, but their years, women learned, side by side with Wyoming. She conducted two summers men, in geology classes until the School of fi eldwork with only a pistol and a dog Robin Bell ([email protected]) is of Engineering—then one of the largest as her fi eld assistants (Figure 1); no man Senior Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty schools at Columbia University—deter- would accompany her to the fi eld. Fowl- Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY, USA. mined that it was improper for women er later went on to map Sierra Leone and Jennifer Laird is ADVANCE Coordina- and men to conduct fi eldwork together. to teach at Wellesley College. tor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, The School enacted a ban on women in Opportunities for women in the Palisades, NY, USA. Stephanie Pfi rman is the later 1890s, a ban enforced until the geosciences grew with the creation Chair of Environmental Science, Barnard height of the Second World War. De- of Columbia University’s Lamont- College, New York, NY, USA. John Mutter spite this deterrent, women continued to Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). is Deputy Director Earth Institute, Columbia study geology at both Columbia College The Observatory was founded in 1949 University, New York, NY, USA. Roberta and Barnard College. The fi rst woman on a 125-acre Hudson River estate do- Balstad is Senior Research Scientist, Center to receive her Ph.D. in geology from nated by Columbia graduate Florence for International Earth Science Information, Columbia University was Lea McIlvaine Corliss Lamont upon the death of her Palisades, NY, USA. Mark Cane is G. Unger Luquer, who submitted a thesis in 1894 husband, Wall Street fi nancier Thomas Vetlesen Professor of Earth Climate Sciences, entitled, “The optical recognition and W. Lamont. As Maurice Ewing and his Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Th is article has been published in Oceanography, Volume 18, Number 1, a quarterly journal of Th e Oceanography Society. Copyright 2005 by Th e Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this article by photo- copy machine, reposting, or other means without prior authorization of Th e Oceanography Society is strictly prohibited. Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 25 Send all correspondence to: [email protected] or Th e Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA. Figure 1. Katharine Fowler, the fi rst woman to receive a Co- lumbia University Ph.D. in geology based on major geologic fi eldwork, mapping anorthosites in Laramie, Wyoming in BOX 1. THE HISTORY OF the 1920s. Th e pistol was con- sidered necessary in her fi eld- WOMEN IN THE GEOSCIENCES work to keep the rattlesnakes AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY under control. Image from Polk and Tiegreen (2001). Reprinted with permission by M. Polk. 1890s: Columbia School of Engineer- ing bans women due to concerns about women working in the fi eld 1894: Lea McIlvaine Luquer becomes the fi rst woman to receive her Ph.D. in geology from Columbia University 1929: Katharine Fowler is the fi rst woman to receive her Ph.D. in geology from Columbia University based on major geological fi eldwork 1948: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observa- tory is founded 1965: Women fi rst permitted on a Lamont cruise 1975: Ellen Herron becomes the fi rst woman chief scientist on a Lamont ship 2000: The on-site childcare facility at Lamont opens its doors Figure 2. Ellen Herron securing the heat-fl ow 2001: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observa- probe on the deck of the R/V Eltanin during a tory bestows the Heritage Award cruise from New Zealand to Chile in 1965. Th is was the fi rst Lamont cruise to permit women on oceanographic cartographer scientists. Image courtesy of Ellen Herron. Marie Tharp, just a few weeks before her 81st birthday 2004: The Earth Institute at Columbia University (of which Lamont is a part) is awarded the National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant for institutional transformation 26 Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 roles at the Observatory were limited to ceive her Ph.D., and eventually become the graduate population. Since the early that of illustrators, human computers, the Observatory’s only woman assistant 1970s, the percentage of women post- and telephone operators. Renee Brilliant, director. In 1975, Herron returned to sea doctoral scientists has grown from 0 to a persistent young geologist, worked for aboard the Robert D. Conrad research 38 percent, associate research scientists several years testing pressure cases for vessel, this time as the fi rst woman chief from 18 percent to 29 percent, and the cameras and installing land-based seis- mometers with Doc Ewing’s wife Midge while the ship shot explosives offshore. Women were permitted on a Lamont cruise Eventually frustrated with limitations on for the first time in 1965. fi eldwork and comments like, “women cannot wear pants in the fi eld,” Brilliant decided to pursue a different career path scientist on a Lamont cruise. tenured staff from 3 percent to 13 per- becoming a successful pediatrician in By the late 1970s, the incoming grad- cent (Figure 4). While the Lamont re- Rockland County. uate student population was consistently search population has remained relative- Women were permitted on a Lamont 40 percent women. By the mid 1980s, ly constant over this same time period, cruise for the fi rst time in 1965. Jessica the institution was making great prog- the percentage of women has more than Donahue and Ellen Herron, both mar- ress toward matriculating more women, doubled from 10 to 22 percent. ried graduate students, sailed on the 60- with graduating classes of 30 percent LDEO has undergone signifi cant day cruise on the Eltanin from Auckland, women. Today the average population change in other ways related to the pres- New Zealand to Valparaiso, Chile. An in- of graduating Ph.D.s is closer to 40 per- ence of women. During the past thirty jury to one of the shipboard technicians cent women. In the past 25 years, 96 years, the institution has made mater- allowed Herron to become the heat-fl ow women have graduated from Columbia nity leave available to both research and technician, acquiring soldering skills and with Ph.D.s in geology and geophysics teaching scientists, established an on-site other practical training (Figure 2). Upon (Figure 3). Box 1 provides a timeline of daycare facility, and enacted a stop-the- her return from the Eltanin, Herron historical events of women in the geosci- clock policy that accommodates tenure- would later write one of the early papers ences at Columbia University. track women with children. Although on mid-ocean ridge segmentation, re- This growth has not been limited to the camaraderie among women graduate Women Receiving PhDs from Columbia University in Geosciences 10 Figure 3. Number of Women 9 granted Ph.D.s in geosciences at 8 Columbia University from 1890 7 to 2005. Th is graphic shows the 6 signifi cant increase in women 5 graduate students beginning 4 in the 1970s and continuing Degrees Granted 3 through the present. 2 1 0 5 5 0 5 0 5 5 95 95 96 75 90 95 05 1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 192 1930 193 1940 1945 1 1 196 1 1970 19 1980 198 19 19 2000 20 Year Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 27 Figure 4. Percentage of women on the Lamont research staff . Th e research staff includes the research faculty who make up the majority of the scientists at Lamont (90). Although the Lamont research population has remained relatively constant over this same time period, the percentage of women has more than doubled from 10 to 22 percent. Tenured research scientists include research scientists, senior research scientists, and senior scholars. students has been in place since Ellen MOTIVATION FOR AN unique to Lamont, Columbia, or the Herron and Jessica Donahue fi rst sailed EXPERIMENT IN INSTITUTIONAL geosciences. A study of doctorate recipi- on the Eltanin in the 1960s, there is now CHANGE ents across the country found that from a vibrant community of women scientists Despite this progress, some challenges 1979 to 1995, men had a steady 14-per- at the Observatory. In addition, a num- remain. There are now seven senior centage point advantage over women in ber of Lamont alumnae now hold senior women scientists on the tenured staff at obtaining faculty positions (Long, 2001). positions at major institutions including Lamont. This is a relatively recent jump: The fi ndings of A Study On The Sta- Scripps Institution of Oceanography and over the past two decades, the average tus of Women Faculty In Science at MIT Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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