IC News

Melanie Stein, Dean of IC’s School of Humanities and Sciences, knows first-hand the challenges women face trying to make their way in the male-dominated field of mathematics. 

“Even before I was a high school student, I really liked math but I did not have a lot of confidence and I got a little susceptible to that message from outside that this was not the most suitable thing for women and girls,” she told an audience of dozens of students in grades 8-12 who were gathered in the Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise.

The students were there for IC’s third annual Women in Math Day, where they had the chance to explore mathematics-driven careers and hear from a variety of female mathematics professionals about their educational and workplace experiences.

Stein, who has a trio of mathematics degrees, and was the chair of the mathematics department at Trinity College, fully understands the importance of the event — a similar one played a big part in her overcoming that early negative messaging. “[A teacher] got me to go to a women in math and science day, kind of like this, in another area institution,” she shared. “That was a big moment for me, being with all these young women who were interested in math.”

In addition to Stein, the panel included mathematics major Molly Noel ’20; Gauri Kolhatkar, a math teacher at Ithaca High School; Hadassah Mativetsky, a software quality engineer at Universal Instruments Corporation; and Liana Nice, associate director of breeding sciences at Nature Source Improved Plants.

Noel’s message to the attendees was one of patience. “When you are in college, you are going to have so many opportunities for different things. Take advantage of as many of those as possible,” she said.

Noel also took part in a casual lunch with attendants, during which she talked about her experience at Ithaca College including courses or opportunities she has taken part in, and offered additional advice for attendees.