For her work supporting gender equity in science fields, the Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council has awarded Karen Fleming, a professor of biophysics, the Provost’s Prize for Faculty Excellence in Diversity.
The council is composed of students, faculty, and staff from across Johns Hopkins who work to support the university’s goals of diversity and inclusion.
According to the university, Fleming was honored on Wednesday during a ceremony on the university’s Homewood campus.
The prize acknowledges faculty efforts to address a broad spectrum of issues relating to gender and racial diversity, and is accompanied by a $50,000 honorarium.
“Dr. Fleming has a bold vision that the academy can be better,” wrote her colleagues, Anne-Elizabeth Brodsky, a senior lecturer in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and Jeffrey Gray, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, in a nominating letter.
“She lives it by striving to deal with her own biases (we all have them) and by sharing the facts and the vision. Dr. Fleming seeks structural ways to improve instruction, research, academic experiences, and professional societies.”
Fleming, who co-chairs the Women Faculty Forum at Homewood which works to advocate for equitable practices and policies for female faculty, is well known for her efforts to address different forms of bias that may affect scientists in higher education and in their careers.
“I am so honored to be selected for this distinction,” Fleming said. “This award recognizes the work we can all do to nurture a more inclusive STEM community.”
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