Each fall, the WWHF hosts a luncheon in Milwaukee featuring a keynote presentation by a nationally-acclaimed women’s health expert to raise funds for the Dr. Judith Stitt Woman Faculty Scholar Grant. This $50,000 scholarship is awarded every other year to support the professional development of women in academic medicine.  Our speaker for the 2007 luncheon was Dr. Michael Roizen, a regular guest on Oprah and author of “RealAge:  Are You As Young As You Can Be?”

Despite the growing numbers of women entering the health professions, there has been relatively little change in the number of women successfully entering the leadership ranks of academic medicine. Leadership of women in academic medicine and women’s health are intertwined as noted in statements by the National Institutes of Health, the Public Health Service Office on Women’s Health, and the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Leaders in academic medicine are drawn from the ranks of senior researchers, but the junior faculty level is a particularly vulnerable time for women faculty largely because efforts to develop a thriving research program coincide with childbearing years. The intent of this award is to encourage more women to embark on research careers by providing salary support to a junior woman faculty member doing women’s health research in the life sciences, biomedical sciences, or social sciences in the State of Wisconsin.

This support will provide the opportunity for more women to reach leadership positions where they can introduce women-centered concepts into the training of health care professionals, influence health policy to eliminate gender bias, and contribute to scientific knowledge which should underlie the health care of women.

This award is named in honor of one well-respected leader in academic medicine from the UW-Madison, Dr. Judith Stitt, who fought many battles as one of the first women in her field, but who lost her final battle with cancer of the bone marrow.

For more information regarding this grant, please contact the Foundation at 1-800-448-5148, or refer to the Scholarships and Grants section of our website.