Suzanne Ortega, PhD, past president of the Council of Graduate Schools, will present the second annual Bob and Helen Bartee and Family Advocacy of Science Lectureship at noon today (Sept. 11).
Dr. Ortega’s presentation – titled “Why Context Matters: Science For, With and In Community” – will be in the Maurer Center for Public Health, Room 3013, on the Omaha campus. Lunch will be provided for the first 50 attendees.
Dr. Ortega is known as a staunch advocate for research and education, and her lecture will offer insights on how to reach out and let people know about the importance of science in their everyday lives.
To access the livestream for the lecture, click here.
The event also will include awarding the Bartee Advocacy of Science Award, for exceptional community engagement by a scientist, to Ann Anderson-Berry, MD, PhD, who joined the UNMC faculty in 2004. Dr. Anderson-Berry holds multiple roles, including executive director of the Child Health Research Institute, vice chair of research in the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, UNMC Division Chief of Neonatology and Sparks Chair of Pediatric Research.
Dr. Anderson-Berry has led CHRI since fall 2019, first as its interim executive director and then, in fall 2021, as executive director. The Casper, Wyoming, native completed her residency at UNMC in 2001.
Dr. Ortega served as the Council of Graduate Schools president from July 2014 to June 2025. The Council of Graduate Schools is the leading national organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research. During her tenure, Dr. Ortega significantly expanded the organization’s portfolio of research and best practice initiatives in graduate education.
Dr. Ortega, who holds master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Vanderbilt University, is the author or co-author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and an introductory sociology text, now in its eighth edition.
An award-winning teacher, she has served on review panels for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on grants totaling more than $21 million in state, federal and private foundation funds. Dr. Ortega has served on a number of professional association boards and committees, including the Graduate Record Exam, the National Academies of Science Committee on Revitalizing Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century and the National Science Foundation’s Human Resources Expert Panel
The Bob and Helen Bartee and Family Lectureship and Award annually invite a recognized expert to UNMC to provide a lecture and engage with UNMC faculty and students on topics related to making science relevant, creating ways for scientists to engage with the community and build science literacy and trust in scientific rigor and results.