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Dr. Kelly Bidle, dean of ������ý����’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has joined the advisory board of SheTek, an organization whose mission is to increase the percentage of women represented in the technology industry. 

������ý���� is currently one of SheTek’s academic partners. Such partnerships provide training, mentorship and internships that support a pipeline of talent that ultimately lead to job placements through SheTek Staffing Services.

“I look forward to contributing to SheTek’s mission and advancing the important goal of increasing the number of women and allies in the tech field,” Bidle says. 

Bidle joined ������ý����’s faculty in 2001. She has led the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since being named dean in 2019. Prior to that, she served as special assistant to the dean and associate dean. She has received many awards from ������ý���� for her leadership, scholarship and commitment to student and faculty development. 

Bidle serves on the editorial boards of the journals Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Extremophiles and is a frequent scientific grant review panelist for the NSF, NASA and the American Society for Microbiology. She joins 11 other individuals on SheTek's board. 

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has recently launched several new and in-demand technology-related academic programs, including computer science and cybersecurity. To support these, and other, programs, a $7 million expansion of ������ý����’s Science and Technology Center began last fall, with plans for new labs, state-of-the-art equipment and classroom space. The project is supported by the largest gift ever received at ������ý���� for the sciences.