Women in Education (HD)

A daughter of Korean immigrants, Michelle Rhee graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and began her career in education as an outstanding member of Teach for America. She founded the New Teacher Project in 1997, recruiting and training teachers for disadvantaged communities. In ten years, the Project had expanded to 40 programs in 20 states and recruited more than 10,000 teachers. In 2007, she was appointed Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system by newly elected Mayor Adrian Fenty. She immediately drew fire from critics who resented her as an outsider, but she has persevered in the face of all resistance, replacing entrenched teachers, principals and administrators whose performance she found unsatisfactory. In the face of determined resistance to change, he has won national acclaim for her efforts to turn around one of the nation's most troubled school systems.

A daughter of Korean immigrants, Michelle Rhee graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and began her career in education as an outstanding member of Teach for America. She founded the New Teacher Project in 1997, recruiting and training teachers for disadvantaged communities. In ten years, the Project had expanded to 40 programs in 20 states and recruited more than 10,000 teachers. In 2007, she was appointed Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system by newly elected Mayor Adrian Fenty. She immediately drew fire from critics who resented her as an outsider, but she has persevered in the face of all resistance, replacing entrenched teachers, principals and administrators whose performance she found unsatisfactory. In the face of determined resistance to change, he has won national acclaim for her efforts to turn around one of the nation's most troubled school systems.

When Susan Hockfield was a student, women in the sciences had few role models. As a senior at the University of Rochester, she had come up with an idea for an interesting experiment, but lacked the confidence to carry it out herself. "People like me don't do these things," she remembers thinking. Fortunately, a sympathetic professor encouraged her, and she resolved to pursue a career in the sciences. Today, she is a neuroscientist of international reputation, and the president of one of the world's leading research universities. Dr. Hockfield's research has focused on the development of the brain and central nervous system. She pioneered new technology in brain research and has discovered proteins that regulate structural changes in the neurons and influence the movement of cancer cells in the brain. Among other insights, her work may open new avenues for the treatment of the deadly brain cancer glioma. When she was chosen to head the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she was not only the first woman to hold the post, but the first biologist to head a faculty better known for its achievements in physics and electrical engineering. Although her appointment reflects the ever-increasing importance of biology and biomedical research, she is also winning praise for her leadership of the MIT Energy Initiative, a massive research program that may well transform the way we power our homes, cars and businesses. In this podcast, recorded at the 2008 International Achievement Summit in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Dr. Susan Hockfield discusses the importance of collaborative thinking in both science and academic leadership.