Women We Admire: M.R.C. Greenwood to speak tomorrow
March 9, 2015 •
Don’t miss the next event in the Women We Admire series when M.R.C. Greenwood makes a visit to UCOP tomorrow, March 11, 12 to 1 p.m., in Franklin Lobby 1.
Greenwood is an internationally known researcher and nationally recognized leader in higher education, nutrition and health sciences. She became the 14th president of the University of Hawaii in August 2009—the first woman to do so—and served until her retirement from the presidency in September 2013. She united a strong belief in the exceptional caliber of the UH System with determination to develop the university’s voice as a national leader in higher education.
Greenwood led the University of Hawaii through one of the worst recessions in modern times, during which it suffered substantial reductions in state funding but was able to serve record numbers of students with no loss in classroom instructional hours. Major projects, such as the UH Cancer Center, the new UH West Oahu campus, the UH Hilo Hawaiian Language and Culture building, the Windward Community College Learning Center, the Maui Community College Science and Technology Center, the Kaua‘i Community College Campus Center project, the UH Mānoa Campus Center and the new Information Technology Building, were completed over her tenure. In addition, the critical international astronomy Thirty Meter Telescope project has advanced, and the groundbreaking occurred.
An expert on obesity and diabetes, Greenwood is a distinguished professor emerita of nutrition at UC Davis. She has published extensively, received numerous scientific awards and been president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Obesity Society and the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, chair of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, as well as serving on or chairing other IOM reports.
Previously, Greenwood held various positions in the UC system, as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and as chancellor of UC Santa Cruz. As chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, she led the campus through a period of great growth, opening the UC system’s first new residential college in 30 years, expanding academic programs by 52 percent, hiring 250 new faculty members, more than doubling extramural research support and constructing nearly a million assignable square feet in academic buildings.
A national leader on science and technology policy and an expert on higher education policy issues, Greenwood served as associate director of science (U.S. Senate confirmed) and later consultant to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, served as a U.S. Senate-confirmed member of the National Science Board and chaired the National Academies’ Policy and Global Affairs Division. As a member of state and national committees and councils, she has tackled issues from writing in America’s schools and biomedical careers for women to national security and ethics of the information society.
Greenwood is working on a projected book and other higher education and health sciences projects. She has published extensively, received numerous scientific awards, serves on several boards, and consults on higher education, biological sciences and women’s issues.
If you can’t attend the talk in person, listen via ReadyTalk by dialing 866-740-1260 and entering access code 7226879.
The President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (PACSW) initiated the Women We Admire series in 2009 to bring women to UCOP from around the system to share insights about their careers, workplace challenges and work–life balance. All members of the UCOP community are invited to learn how to make the most of working at UC.
Find upcoming speakers in the series and archived audio of past talks on the Women We Admire website.
