Dr. Melanie Mormile, associate professor of biological sciences at Missouri
University of Science and Technology, has been named Missouri S&T’s 2008
Woman of the Year.
Missouri S&T Chancellor John F. Carney III presented Mormile with the
award during a Woman of the Year luncheon April 7 at the Havener Center on
campus.
Mormile has been a member of the Missouri S&T faculty since 1999, when
she joined the biological sciences department as assistant professor. In 2004,
she was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure a year earlier than
expected. She has taught at least 15 different classes in the biological
sciences department, including basic courses for incoming freshman and
graduate-level courses.
During her tenure, Mormile has secured grants and contracts totaling more
than $4.7 million, co-authored 24 scholarly articles or book chapters,
delivered 25 invited seminars or talks and contributed to 65 presentations
given at professional meetings. She is also an active member of numerous
professional organizations.
In addition to her teaching duties, Mormile seeks opportunities to improve
the lives and careers of women faculty and students on campus. One of her
nominators writes, “Dr. Mormile actively seeks opportunities to work with and
mentor women students on campus; she doesn’t wait for them to come to her. As a
woman scientist in a largely male-dominated environment, she not only
understands how important it is for women students to have women faculty as
role models, but she also gives of her time and resources generously to those
students.”
Mormile serves as a positive role model to both male and female students
considering careers in science, speaking to and providing departmental tours
for groups of pre-college students from visiting science clubs, running
workshops for on-campus camps and supervising Science Olympiad events.
In 2007, Mormile served as co-coordinator of the Missouri S&T Women
Advancing Excellence Day. She also co-taught the Women as Global Leaders course
in the Missouri S&T Residential College.
“There is perhaps no other course taught on our campus that attracts more
young women students interested in how they might achieve future success,”
wrote one of Mormile’s nominators. “Few women on campus would have been
prepared to take on the role of instructor of this class; fewer still would
have been able to deliver to the students such a high-quality, interesting,
challenging course.”
Outside the classroom, Mormile actively works to improve the quality of life
for women faculty by joining in a special cheering section at Missouri
S&T sporting events and hosting a faculty women’s stitching group.
“Dr. Mormile has been able to strike an unusual balance among teaching,
research, service, and that more ephemeral, hard-to-quantify category of
general helpfulness,” wrote a nominator. “Her students adore her, her
colleagues admire her.”
Mormile earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of
Cincinnati in 1985, a master of science degree from the University of
Louisville in 1988 and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1995.
Following graduation, Mormile worked as a post-doctoral fellow for Battelle,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratories.
The Woman of the Year award is given to an outstanding female faculty member
who has helped to improve the campus climate for women and has served as a role
model for other faculty and students through her research, scholarship and
service. Last year’s winner was Dr. Jennifer Leopold, an assistant professor of
computer science.
This is the 12th year for the Woman of the Year award, which is funded by
Missouri S&T graduate Cindy Tang, founder of Insight Industries Inc., one
of the largest software engineering companies in Wisconsin. Tang earned a
bachelor’s degree in economics from Missouri S&T in 1985 and a master’s of
business administration degree from Drury College, now Drury University, in
1987.