NSF acting director will deliver Denton Distinguished Lecture

Cora Marrett, acting director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), will deliver the 2010 Denice D. Denton Distinguished Lecture at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, in 1310 Sterling Hall. The lecture is titled “ ‘If It Hadn’t Been for Denice’… NSF and a Legacy of Inclusion.” The event, which is free and open to the university community and the public, is organized and hosted by the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) and the Committee Honoring Denice’s Memory. A reception will follow the lecture.

Marrett has led the NSF’s mission to achieve excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. She was named acting director on June 1 after serving in several other roles at the foundation. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from UW–Madison and served on the sociology faculty, and was the UW System’s senior vice president for academic affairs for six years. Marrett was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996 and as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998.

Denton was a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW–Madison from 1987–96. She went on to become dean of the University of Washington College of Engineering. In 2005, she became the chancellor of the University of California-Santa Cruz, a position she held at the time of her death on June 24, 2006.

“Denice Denton had a profound impact on the University of Wisconsin–Madison in research, education and professional development, and their integration across disciplines,” notes the WISELI Web site. “She was an intellectual and organizational leader in all of these areas, from the Engineering Research Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing to the National Institute for Science Education. … If our campus has progressed further than some, it is because we have stood on the shoulders of a giant.”

A fundraising event in honor of Denton will be held on Thursday, Nov. 18, at the University Club, 803 State St., with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. The cost is $50, and additional donations are welcome. Proceeds will go to the Denice Denton Memorial Fund, which supports the Denice D. Denton Student Award and the lecture series. Those attending the dinner can meet Marrett and share memories with Denton’s mother and friends. To register, download the registration form and return it prior to Wednesday, Nov. 3. For more information, contact Jennifer Sheridan at 263–1445.