Women’s History Month Programming Concludes with Visit from Celebrated COVID-19 Vaccine Scientist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett 

March is Women’s History Month, a celebration of the invaluable and innumerable contributions of women everywhere throughout history. 

They are certainly making their mark at Monroe, where talented, accomplished women are helping lead the University forward. In addition to women at the helm as deans of four of our seven academic schools, you will also find women leading our Academic and Student Affairs teams, as well as Academic Technology, Admissions, Alumni Relations, Career Services, Human Resources, Marketing, Public Affairs, and Public Safety, among others. Further, two-fifths of the individuals on our Board of Trustees are women, as are approximately 60% of our faculty. 

As President Marc Jerome wrote in a collegewide email for International Woman’s Day, “I am so privileged to work beside these exceptional colleagues. Monroe is a stronger institution for their contributions and leadership.”

In observation of Women’s History Month, the University offered special programming, both in and out of the virtual classrooms. It also helped support creative and inspirational student-driven social media campaigns. 

One such event was the “Celebrating Influential Women in Law Enforcement” program hosted by the School of Criminal and Social Justice. Three women making an impact in their law enforcement leadership roles joined students and guests for a virtual celebration of their accomplishments and contributions to their chosen fields. The honorees were:  Juanita N. Holmes, Chief of Patrol for the NYPD; Rosemarie Maldonado, Deputy Commissioner of Trials with the NYPD; and Olufunmilola Obe, Commanding Officer of the NYPD’s School Safety Division. 

For its final Women’s History Month program this year, the University was privileged to welcome and honor Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett to an empowering virtual event with students. She is the 35-year-old celebrated viral immunologist who helped lead the National Institutes of Health team working to find an effective vaccine to combat COVID-19.

Dr. Corbett has been called a “superhero in a lab coat” and for good reason -- her pioneering work was essential to the development of the Moderna vaccine. 



The event was co-hosted by our Schools of Allied Health Professions, Criminal and Social Justice, and Education.