The 2015 honorees include faculty and staff members; administrators; members of the 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees; and Judy Thames, president of LIFE at 麻豆原创. This is the third year the center has recognized women around campus during March.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all different and all amazing in how they have contributed to 麻豆原创鈥檚 past, present and future,鈥� said Linda Walters, director of the center.

To honor the work by all women on campus, the month-long observance will feature one woman with a Q&A each day on the center鈥檚 website. All of their photos and Q&As will be archived on the website, and they are given a certificate. They also will have the opportunity to join President John C. Hitt and First Lady Martha Hitt for lunch.

鈥淲omen鈥檚 History Month is a national celebration of the important, but sometimes overlooked, roles women have played in our history,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淲e have our executive board nominate notable women across campus each year for us to celebrate and learn more about.鈥�

The center offers resources to help women succeed in academic life and balance their life and work issues.

There were family-leave workshops for those thinking about starting a family, but there was no grassroots network to help parents who might need a referral for a pediatrician or a good babysitter near campus. And there was no vehicle for discussing topics such as how to correct hundreds of essays while with a teething 1-year-old demanding attention.

She thought back to her days of graduate school in California and recalled the well-known Berkeley Parents Network, which was available to all university employees 聽with children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

鈥淚t was such a wonderful resource,鈥� Reyes-Foster said. 鈥淲hen I had my first child and arrived at 麻豆原创 I thought, why can鈥檛 we have something like that here.鈥�

The Berkeley Parents Network, started by a graduate student in 1993, offers university parents throughout the Bay Area 鈥� more than 32,000 鈥� a host or resources all through email and more recently through a website. Need a last minute babysitter, pediatrician referral or tips on managing your work and personal life? You can find all that on the network, and because many members are academics, there are often in-depth discussions about studies on paid family leave, child development and special education.

Never one to sit around waiting for things to happen, Reyes-Foster launched the 麻豆原创 Faculty Parents Network on Facebook in 2011 with the support of the 麻豆原创 Center for Success of Women Faculty.

The 麻豆原创 page currently has about 85 members that range from staff to full professors. It鈥檚 a closed group, which means people have to ask to be accepted, but being a faculty member or employee at 麻豆原创 is all that鈥檚 needed to gain entry.

The group is a mix of men and women, and the topics covered run the gamut, Reyes-Foster said. Just in the past four months the topics covered by participants have included: a new study on the impact of fluoride on neurological development in children, adjunct pay, declining birthrates, information on free theatre performances around town, and several giveaways of gently used baby furniture.

鈥淭his is a great resource,鈥� said Linda Walters, director of the 麻豆原创 Center for Success of Women Faculty. 鈥淭he page generates healthy discussion about a broad range of topics and also offers members a place to discuss sometimes sensitive topics with people who have gone through the same process and can provide valuable information.鈥�

Currently the network focuses on families with younger children, but Walters would love to see that be expanded to include middle school and high school issues.

Reyes-Foster last year also scheduled a few on-campus meetings based on topics of interest from the Facebook page and playdates for some of the members and their children on weekends.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a work in process, but I know the folks that are active on the page seem to really enjoy it,鈥� she said.

Walters said she hopes to see the page grow in popularity and that the interactions on the page will translate into real-world interactions, which helps build community.

鈥淭his is just the beginning and we鈥檙e very excited to have lots of people on board,鈥� Walters said.

Anyone who is on the 麻豆原创 faculty or staff and is interested in joining this group can search for 鈥溌槎乖� Faculty Parents Network鈥� on Facebook or contact Reyes-Foster at beatriz.reyes-foster@ucf.edu.”

鈥淲e have some amazing women here and I鈥檓 guessing most of our 麻豆原创 community doesn鈥檛 know most of them,鈥� said Linda Walters, the center鈥檚 interim director. 鈥淪tudies show women tend not to promote themselves and their achievements, but they are truly an important part of our university鈥檚 success.鈥�

The center鈥檚 mission is to recruit and retain the best women faculty and help them advance in their careers. The center offers an array of resources to help faculty women navigate academic life and balance life and work issues.

The March campaign is one way to recognize the contributions women faculty and staff make. That鈥檚 why one woman will be featured on the center鈥檚 website every day throughout the month. The center鈥檚 program assistant, Fran Ragsdale, came up with the idea, and 聽the executive council made the nominations and selected the winners. Council members excluded themselves from consideration.

Among the winners that will be featured:

Dr. Debra Reinhart, Pegasus Professor in Engineering currently on assignment at the National Science Foundation as a program director for the Environmental Engineering Program. Reinhart has a long history with 麻豆原创. She graduated from the university when it was called Florida Technological University. 聽She left to start her academic career and returned in 1989. She moved through the ranks from an assistant professor to full professor before becoming an associate dean, interim chair and interim director of the NanoScience Technology Center. At 麻豆原创, Reinhart鈥檚 current position is assistant vice president for research and commercialization for the 麻豆原创 Office of Research and Commercialization.

Maggie Leclair, an assistant to the dean of the College of Sciences. She previously was an administrative assistant in the Nicholson School of Communication. She鈥檚 a long-time 麻豆原创 employee and supporter and 聽has a special place in her heart for the College of Medicine. She purchased a brick in the school鈥檚 plaza in honor of her mother, Betsy Coull, a nurse who spent her life taking care of others. 鈥淢aggie鈥� is best known to many as the past-president of the 麻豆原创 Women鈥檚 Club, and chief fundraiser for their undergraduate and graduate student scholarships.

Dr. Maren Fragala, an assistant professor of Sport and Exercise Science. She joined the 麻豆原创 family two years ago and has already been making an impact with the local geriatric community. As part of her research, she鈥檚 investigating an exercise program that improves muscle quality in older adults. At the end of phase one of her study she found all her participants had improved. She hopes one day 麻豆原创 will expand its Institute of Exercise Physiology and Wellness to create a world class Center for Healthy Aging and Faculty Wellness Research Center where all the equipment and resources are available to extend 麻豆原创 exercise training programs to any older adult and faculty member free of charge.

After being known for more than a decade as the Women鈥檚 Research Center, the group was renamed a few weeks ago to better reflect the organization鈥檚 goals.

And now, the group is taking its new mission outward to offer its services and to encourage excellence in scholarship, research and creativity in all endeavors related to women.

鈥淥ur mission is more than just research. Our goal is to help 麻豆原创 recruit and retain the best women faculty and help them become even more successful,鈥� said Linda Walters, a biology professor and interim director of the center. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing that by building community 鈥� especially in departments where they may be isolated as the sole woman faculty member 鈥� and helping balance life and work issues.鈥�

The revamped center is trying to reach its objectives by mentoring, sponsoring events to improve professional capabilities, and providing resources, said Walters, who has been the interim director about a year and who kick-started the center鈥檚 changes.

The center housed in Classroom Building 1 now schedules speakers, leadership workshops, seminars, book-club gatherings, self-defense and yoga classes, CPR training, and other activities. A faculty development conference is planned for May.

The center鈥檚 new website also highlights the achievements of women faculty members. Just this week, a link was added that recognizes women faculty who have authored or edited books within the past three years. There are 21 women listed so far whose works range from research to fiction to poetry; others with books are asked to inform the center.

Fran Ragsdale, program assistant at the center, said the organization also wants to increase the ratio of women faculty members at 麻豆原创.

This semester there were 1,011 male faculty members and 662 women faculty members, she said.

Hiring of new faculty for the fall semester was an improvement in the ratio, she said, with 44 men and 40 women.

Walters said that 25 percent of all women faculty members have been directly involved with the center in the past year, but she鈥檚 shooting for more.

鈥淢y goal is to now make it so everyone has heard of this center, and for those who need it, use it.鈥�

More information about the center and its events can be found at womens.research.ucf.edu. To see a gallery of the women faculty who have authored or edited books, click on the Highlighted Faculty link.