A closer look at women and minorities in the hard sciences will be presented by a sociologist in the latest in the lecture series of the Department of Education Reform of the University of Arkansas.

Lara Perez-Felkner, an assistant professor of higher education and sociology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, will speak in a lunch program on Friday March 8, 2019. Her lecture title is "Ability Beliefs, Undergraduate Research and Degree Attainment in Laboratory Sciences: Implications for Women and Racial/Ethnic Minority Students."

Perez-Felkner teaches in Florida State's Higher Education Program and also is affiliated with the university's Department of Sociology. Her bachelor's degree was earned at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, while her master's and doctorate were from the University of Chicago.

She focuses on what's commonly called STEM education, for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

"Her research uses developmental and sociological perspectives to examine how young people's social contexts influence their college and career outcomes," according to her faculty profile. "In particular, she investigates racial-ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in post-secondary educational attainment and entry to scientific career fields."

The hourlong program, in Room 243 of the Graduate Education Building on the University of Arkansas campus, begins at noon and includes a light lunch for those who register online before 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 6. The 2018-19 lecture series is detailed on the website of the department.