STEM Girl
St. Catherine University logo in purple
Expanding HERizons

The quest to develop more BIPOC
women leaders in science

LEARN MORE

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Watch our town hall on how Brown and Black Women Lead in Science

On October 5th, we held a town hall meeting with our leadership, students and science professionals, hosted by MPR’s Kerri Miller, about what it will take to educate the next generation of committed, passionate, diverse, scientific problem-solvers.

Meet the St. Kate’s trailblazers behind Expanding HERizons

We are on an urgent mission to develop the next generation of STEM leaders from St. Kate’s.

Rebecca Roloff, MBA

Rebecca Roloff, MBA

President
Class of ’76
Anita Thomas, PhD

Anita Thomas, PhD

Executive Vice President
& Provost
Tarshia Stanley, PhD

Tarshia Stanley, PhD

Dean of the School
of Humanities, Arts &
Sciences

Beth Halloran

Beth Halloran

Executive VP and Chief
Advancement Officer
Taviare Hawkins, PhD

Taviare Hawkins, PhD

Professor of Physics,
Math & Sciences
Division Chair

Liz Fry, PhD

Elizabeth Brondos Fry, PhD

Assistant Professor
of Statistics

Kim Ha, PhD

Kim Ha, PhD

Associate Professor
of Chemistry and
Biochemistry
Tami McDonald, PhD

Tami McDonald, PhD

Associate Professor
of Biology

What is Expanding HERizons?

We aspire to change the faces of leadership in science, tech, engineering, and math—to better reflect the communities these fields serve. While we have always served women at St. Kateʼs, we realize that we need to do more to attract, retain, graduate and place BIPOC women in STEM positions so they can help lead our country and our world toward inclusive solutions because we know that diverse teams produce better outcomes.

At St. Kateʼs we are also in the process of renovating and upgrading our science and technology spaces, which includes our historic Mendel building— to help us with our goal of educating our innovative and talented student body which is 42%, BIPOC women.

We’re Raising Funds For:

Flexible faculty research space

We're Raising funds for flexible faculty research space
We're Raising funds for virtual reality anatomy and physiology labs

Virtual reality anatomy and physiology labs

We're Raising funds for virtual reality anatomy and physiology labs
St. Catherine is
Leading the Way

%

Of Our Students are
BIPOC Women

The reality of women in STEM today

The number of BIPOC students who enroll in a STEM discipline today is comparable to the number of white students. However, the numbers drastically decline when we look at graduation rates and job placement. We need to change that.

Pie chart - The stat for the 27% of women in STEM and 5% of BIPOC women can both be found according to the United States Census Bureau
* According to the US Census Bureau

“We need to double the number of BIPOC women leaders in science in the next five years because it’s critical they provide solutions to world problems that take into consideration the entire population and often differentially affect their own communities. We are determined to be loud and bold about growing that number of women in STEM, and the number of BIPOC women in STEM, because the challenges we face as a nation and as a planet need innovative and diverse solutions which are interdisciplinary and holistic.”

Anita Thomas, PhD

Executive Vice President and Provost

Anita Thomas, PhD
Opening Celebrations by rebecca studios

St. Kate’s is the best place to move the world forward

We are built on a foundation of inclusion.

We work to reflect the future we believe in. Black, Indigenous, People of Color make up 42% of our student body, and our faculty is also diverse. We believe in fostering a campus that is equitable, safe, and forward thinking.
We are an all-women’s college.
The biggest reason students either switch their STEM major or drop out from college is they feel discriminated against. As one of 36 all womenʼs colleges, we are equipped to meet the needs of our students by delivering an exceptional education as well as developing the student’s sense of belonging.
We believe in the power of science.
Our graduates have become epidemiologists, senior environmental scientists, Covid-19 test supervisors, environmental attorneys, and more. We are opening the doors for more leaders so that we all may experience an even greater impact.
Image of a woman using a laboratory equipment

1 of only 6

all-women universities that is also recognized as a Minority Serving Institution*

Image of a woman using a laboratory microscope

1 of 36

women-only institutions in the country

How you can help

We strive to provide our students with the best opportunities for success. We give them the tools for leadership in the fields where they are underrepresented.

This means ensuring our labs, classrooms, and other workspaces are up-to-date with the latest equipment—and that our faculty have the resources they need to prepare the leaders of tomorrow.

To support our mission, we ask that you donate to St. Catherine University to help fund the renovation of our Mendel science building, so that we can continue to educate more women in science.

Give
Image of women in a laboratory
Colored divider (yellow, green and purple)
To support our mission, you can donate to
St. Catherine University to help fund the future
of all women leaders in science