Cleveland State University faculty Meredith Bond, dean of the College of Science and Health Professions, and Debbie Jackson, an associate professor in the College of Education and Human Services, have received inaugural Women Living STEM Awards from the Northeast Ohio STEM Ecosystem and the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES). The award recognizes leading advocates for science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the region.

“Northeast Ohio has quietly been at the heart of STEM innovation throughout the country, with women making many meaningful contributions,” the organizations noted in the award announcement. “These honorees lead and live STEM every day through their passion for progressing the industry and supporting and encouraging girls and young women to further their interests, education and impact in all things STEM.”

“A strong STEM ecosystem is a central component of a strong economy and a healthy society,” Bond says. “I am so proud to have been able to play a role in advancing the development of this ecosystem in Northeast Ohio, while ensuring all have access to top quality STEM education.”

“I have a passion for education and for the STEM disciplines and I am thankful that my efforts have helped make an impact,” Jackson says. “I would like to thank the Northeast Ohio STEM Ecosystem and TIES for this tremendous honor and want to congratulate all of the STEM leaders that also received this recognition.”

Bond has served as dean of the College of Science and Health Professions since 2011. She previously served as chair of the Department of Physiology in the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and as a staff researcher in the Department of Molecular Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. She has also held a number of national leadership roles related to the effort to increase minority and women representation in STEM fields. This includes serving as a member of the Academic Leadership Forum of the Association for Academic Minority Physicians.

Jackson currently serves as the Interim Department Chair of Teacher Education and was previously the Director of the CSU STEMM Education Center which seeks to enhance research and educational innovation across campus and in the community in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. She also conducts nationally recognized research in the areas of STEM learning, teacher education and teaching practice. This includes co-leading CSU’s NSF-funded Computer Science for All initiative, which seeks to train local high school teachers to provide computer science education for their students.

For more information about the Women Living Stem Awards including a list of all honorees, visit https://www.womenlivingstem.com/.

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