Above and Beyond
Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison, the first woman of color in space, discusses her groundbreaking career
Astronaut, engineer and physician Mae Jemison will present Dickinson’s annual Poitras-Gleim Lecture on Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and may be reserved online.
Jemison became the first woman of color to reach space when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Serving six years as a NASA astronaut, Jemison is an icon of both the women’s rights and civil rights movements. She was inducted into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. Jemison is a vocal advocate for improving education access and advocating for greater inclusion of girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. She is the founder of The Earth We Share, an international science camp for students 12-16 years old, and she leads The 100 Year Starship, an initiative to assure the capability for human interstellar travel within the next century. In addition to her service on several corporate boards and numerous honors, Jemison also has appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation and hosted the Discovery Channel series World of Wonder.
The annual Poitras-Gleim Lecture, which was endowed by a gift from Ted and Kay Gleim Poitras ’53, provides a forum to explore and promote cross-disciplinary thought and communication. The Student Senate Academics Committee organizes and oversees the Poitras-Gleim Lecture and is tasked with fostering vibrant campus discussions about academic and political issues through seminars, lectures and debates. Previous Poitras-Gleim lecturers have included actor David Oyelowo, feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan and Star Trek icon George Takei.
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Published March 31, 2018