NATIONAL EXPERT TO SPEAK ON GENDER
DYNAMICS IN THE CLASSROOM

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 16 -- Why aren't more women
seeking graduate science degrees, leading to academic careers in
astronomy, biology, chemistry, math or physics?
	A national expert in gender issues in academia will discuss
barriers to classroom equity, Monday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. at the
University of Virginia's Minor Hall, Room 125.  (Participant parking
will be available at the University parking garage, off Emmet
Street.) Visiting scholar Bernice R. Sandler will present "The
Climate in the Classroom:  Gender Dynamics and Change." A senior
scholar-in-residence at the National Association for Women in
Education, Sandler will talk about how classroom dynamics are
created, what needs to be changed and how to change it.
	A part of the Women and Leadership Initiative 2000 series,
the lecture is sponsored by U.Va. Women's Center, whose mission is
to embrace all women -- enlightening, supporting, and celebrating
them as shapers of the world.
	Well-known for her expertise in policies and programs
affecting women, Sandler wrote "The Chilly Classroom:  A Guide to
Improve the Education of Women" and co-wrote "Sexual Harassment on
Campus:  A Guide for Administrators, Faculty and Students."  Sandler
regularly consults with national institutions and others about
achieving equity for women. She writes a quarterly newsletter,
"About Women on Campus" and also serves as an expert witness in
discrimination cases. Sandler was the first person to ever testify
specifically about discrimination against women in education and the
first person appointed to a Congressional committee on women's
issues.  She filed the first charges of sex discrimination against
more than 250 institutions, working to get existing federal
regulations enforced at a time when there were no laws prohibiting
sex discrimination in education.
	Sandler holds a degree in counseling from the University of
Maryland. She has taught counseling and psychology and has worked as
a psychologist, a research assistant, a nursery school teacher, a
guitar instructor and like many women, a secretary. 
	She was the first chairperson of the now-defunct National
Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs, having been
appointed by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. She has served
on more than thirty boards, has nine honorary doctorates and
numerous other awards. 
A reception and dinner discussion, "Moving the Immovable:
Strategies for Institutional Change," will be held at 6:30 p.m. at
the Colonnade Club. For reservations , call the Women's Center at
(804) 982-2361.
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October 15, 1996