Articles
A woman who reached for the sky helped women reach for the stars
Amelia Earhart has long inspired young women to pursue their dreams, even if they face obstacles to their goals and especially if those dreams will take them beyond traditional careers. Still, in 2006, women held 1.3 million jobs in science and engineering, a third of the 3.7 million held by men. That means plenty of opportunity for women in these fields. Science and engineering careers offer the chance to make new discoveries and to make a difference in the world.
My View: How our economic garden grows
"The recently announced new crop of 50 Indiana Companies to Watch reflects not only the vision of their founding entrepreneurs, but also the future of Indiana."
U.S.News & World Report
July 2009
40 Years After Moon Landing, Time to Launch the Next 'Giant Leap for Mankind'
The Apollo program was a booster rocket for American science. That innovation must be rekindled.
American Executive
March 2008
Purdue University: Discovery Space
"At a time when research dollars are drying up and public universities face growing funding constraints and rising costs, Purdue has established itself as a major regional engine of economic growth, business incubation, and breakthrough research."
LATINA Style
Vol. 14, No. 1, 2008
"I never forgot my dreams of science, and in 1969, shortly after I graduated from Stanford University I was inspired by two events."
The Presidency
Spring 2006
Losing Sleep Over Student Success?
"Whether our concerns are about the future of an individual student, our nation’s competitiveness, or the health and security of the world’s people, the underlying issue is the challenge of making our students' college experience successful."
Hispanic Business
September 2007
2007 Special Report on Diversity: It's Not Rocket Science
France Córdova Blazes Trail for Diversity at the University Level
Woman
Summer 1997
Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground
"We don’t have any idea what our limits are. When you’re out on some of these frontiers, people sometimes don’t understand where you’re going. I want people to feel comfortable with the leading edge."
Mercury
January/February 1992
Women in Astronomy, A Sampler of Issues and Ideas
"Women need encouragement, and this encouragement has to start at home; parents need to value a science career for their daughters."
Science Digest
December 1984
America's Top 100 Young Scientists
"The implications of their work over the next decades will be more profound than we can imagine."
Speeches
Córdova: Purdue impact felt around the world - and high above it
Good morning graduates, families, and friends! There are 514 reasons to be proud here: 273 of them are graduate students receiving the PhD, Masters or Doctor of Nursing Practice, and 241 of them are students receiving the baccalaureate degree. Nearly every Purdue college is represented.Your course of study may have been different than the person sitting in the next row or across the aisle, but there is one thing you have in common: your Purdue degree. You can hold this high and with great pride.
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Córdova to graduates: 'Today is your launch'
Trustees, faculty, staff, families and friends: Let's congratulate our new graduates! We recognize the long hours, the caffeine, the legal file-sharing and text messaging that brought you to this day.My daughter will receive a master's of education and teaching credential this spring, and next year, my son will receive a bachelor's degree in engineering. I want to say to all the parents here: I know exactly what you feel - pride - and relief!
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Córdova to graduates: 'Make the world a better place'
Trustees, friends of the university, faculty, staff, parents and students: Welcome to the 206th commencement at Purdue!To our graduates: Today we celebrate your achievement. You have spent many years preparing for this moment, and I know that each of you will acknowledge that you have arrived here with help and support. Take time, right now, to let your parents, grandparents, family and friends know how much you appreciate them.
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President Córdova provides summary of forum sessions
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Konnichiwa. Ohayo gozaimasu!
I will review three sessions: international collaboration; research collaboration between developed and developing countries; and brain drain, gain, and circulation. The discussions of the three sessions were nicely interrelated.
I will start with brains first, since without brains in S&T, we would have no research collaborations, we would have no international collaboration!
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President Córdova pays tribute to former NASA administrator Goldin
Good morning. We are about to unveil an extraordinary portrait. Let me rephrase that: We are about to unveil the portrait of an extraordinary man. In truth, it's some of both, because the artist has worked closely with the subject to capture a life, a passion - a strategic plan on canvas - with mission, vision, and goals - it's all there, history and the future - captured in Alan Chinchar's portrait of NASA's ninth administrator Dan Goldin.And what a history! Dan Goldin recruited me to NASA as his chief scientist on the eve of one of his earliest - and most consequential - decisions: to launch a Shuttle mission to attempt to fix the impaired optics of the Hubble Space Telescope. That mission, in December of 1993, is a milestone in the history of knowledge because with new optics the telescope returned images of cosmic phenomena with unprecedented clarity, images that ultimately contributed to new revelations about the origins of galaxies, the birth and death of stars, and the mass-energy content of the universe.
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President Córdova outlines Purdue's new strategic plan
Good morning. Today I am presenting, on behalf of the students, faculty, staff and administration, a new Purdue University strategic plan for the board's consideration.This plan runs from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2014. It is designed to position our university to be among the world's truly great research universities, meeting grand challenges and focused on the success of its students, faculty, and staff.
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Córdova to graduates: 'We believe in your potential'
Welcome on this wonderful occasion as we celebrate the success and the future of our Purdue University graduates.Graduates, I know you have worked long and hard to reach this moment. Oh, the exams you've taken, the papers you've written, the text messages you've sent!
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France Córdova's Presidential Inauguration Speech
Good afternoon and welcome. Welcome to Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, and to all our state and community leaders, and to our regional campus chancellors. I am honored that you have joined us.
Welcome to my colleague Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, and Dan Goldin, former Administrator at NASA who gave me the incredible opportunity to work with him as Chief Scientist for the space agency.
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Purdue president: 'Driving the 3-D Highway, from discovery to development and delivery'
Good morning. Welcome to this Partnerships for Innovation workshop. I'm honored to be invited to speak to you today. I know NSF Director Arden Bement will be speaking later today; I am proud that he is the David A. Ross Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue, and former head of our School of Nuclear Engineering.While this NSF Partnerships for Innovation program is now in its eighth year, this is the inaugural workshop. This is a wonderful opportunity to share best practices that have led to successes, and to be inspired to continue in this effort.
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Purdue president speaks to Economic Club about the 'global university' for Indiana
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The Economic Club of Indianapolis is an important forum in which to discuss today's leading issues. It's an honor for me to be here talking about higher education and what Purdue University can do, not only for our students, but also for Indianapolis, our state of Indiana, our nation and world.
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Córdova: Commencement offers opportunity for bold beginning
Trustees, friends of the university, faculty, staff, parents and students: Welcome on this wonderful occasion!Students: Our state, our nation, our world need your talent and your energy, your enthusiasm and your ideas. And now you are ready to make your mark because, yes, you are graduating! Congratulations students! Congratulations parents and friends! You did it, all of you.
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Purdue presidency presents perfect opportunity
Chairman McGinley, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and members of the Purdue community: thank you for the confidence and trust you place in me. It is my great honor to accept the invitation to become Purdue's 11th president.It would be hard to be at Purdue, the intellectual launching pad for 22 astronauts, without commenting on how extraordinary an opportunity this is for me, a space scientist. Since I was a young girl, I looked up and wondered about those tiny points of light in the night sky. Many Purdue graduates have traveled in that darkness and seen a sunrise every 90 minutes. I feel privileged to be at the wellspring of inspiration for these space-faring Boilermakers.
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Córdova: Road to chancellor often not a straight path
I would like to start with a question: How many academics with advanced degrees does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: only one, but the light bulb has got to really want to change.
Now: How many academics with advanced degrees does it take to start a medical school? Answer: unknown, but many more than one. With a small but entrepreneurial team, backed by committed health administrators such as Cathryn Nation, UC Riverside has embarked on launching the first new medical school in California, indeed the first new medical school west of the Mississippi, in 45 years.
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In the public interest: Student success in higher education
President Atwell, I am honored to be giving the lecture that bears your name.
Tomorrow there is a special session at this meeting for presidents and chancellors called "What keeps you up at night?" Let me start the dialog.
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Increasing participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
I want to thank the American Council on Education for inviting me here today. On many levels, this workshop is near and dear to my heart. I have been active in ACE, serving on the Commission on Women in Higher Education, as well as a National Panel of Presidents and Chancellors on Models for Flexible Tenure-track Faculty Career Pathways. For three years, I was Chief Scientist at NASA, the sponsor of this pre-conference. And, as Chancellor at the University of California Riverside, I have been actively engaged in trying to promote interest in the STEM fields, particularly among women and underrepresented minorities. So I feel very much at home talking about how higher education can partner with federal agencies to address the nation's scientific and technological challenges, especially those related to STEM talent. More