Anne McNabb honored with College of Science Diversity Award
Anne McNabb of Blacksburg, Va., a professor of biological sciences and associate dean of Virginia Tech's Graduate School, has been named this year's Diversity Award winner in the university's College of Science.
McNabb joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1970 and has since initiated and promoted a number of projects within the college to foster diversity awareness and help make the College of Science culturally diverse.
“Anne has steadfastly promoted all aspects of Virginia Tech’s goals to build a more diverse and welcoming environment even before it became a priority at the university,” said Ignacio Moore, assistant professor of biological sciences and chair of the department’s faculty recognition committee. “She has made the promotion of diversity a central goal of her career and in doing so, has made the university a better place to work.”
McNabb has promoted diversity through a number of projects and initiatives. She led the development of a rigorous graduate student recruitment system in the department and was founder and first chair of the department’s and college’s diversity committees. She has been an advocate for women and has been a mentor for dozens of women and minority faculty members. She is co-principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health-funded grant call Initiatives for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) that supports an initiative to recruit minority and first-generation college students for doctoral studies in science fields.
“Anne was the first woman in our department to be promoted to full professor, so she has been a critical role model for our community,” Moore said.
“From childhood, I have been aware of and bothered by societal stereotypes and the power they have to thwart development and damage lives,” McNabb said. “I feel strongly that learning about different cultures and backgrounds helps to expand one’s own horizons and greatly enriches one’s life.”
McNabb and her husband host several international students each year and are active in various social and cultural events for the international community.
The diversity award carries with it a monetary stipend for professional development and other related activities.
