Jill Sible

Jill Sible, associate professor of biology in the College of Science, joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1998. Her research on gender equity in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics has tracked a pattern of low retention among female and minority undergraduates. Sible is engaged in research funded by the National Science Foundation to test her hypothesis that the environment in which science is taught may center on a Caucasian, male-oriented culture. To curtail exclusivity in science, Sible seeks to foster a sense of inclusion and empowerment within her classroom. While her research has identified bias against - and attrition of - females during the undergraduate years at Virginia Tech, it also shows significant evidence of an improvement in women's self-confidence in the discipline due to the employment of teaching strategies similar to those used by Sible. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire and her doctorate from Tufts U. School of Medicine.