Jennifer Funk receives inaugural Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award

Jennifer Funk, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has received the inaugural Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award. The award provides a $20,000 grant to support the scholarship of a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who represents excellence in their field, exhibits the leadership abilities to impact their discipline, presents a unique and transformative perspective, and works to advance the representation of women in plant sciences. 

“The Department of Plant Sciences is delighted to announce the inaugural award and hope that, by inspiring the next generation of women scientists, we can honor Barbara’s legacy,” said Gail Taylor, chair of the Department of Plant Sciences.

Barbara Webster was the first female faculty member to join the Department of Agronomy, which later became part of Plant Sciences. Throughout her pioneering career, she strived to create a safe space for women to excel on the UC Davis campus, and was a fierce advocate for the increased participation of women and minorities in science. 

Funk will use the award to develop a research program for female high school students who attend Davis Senior High, located just over a mile north of the UC Davis campus. The program is slated to begin during the Winter Quarter of 2022 and will take place on the university campus.

Cohorts of ten students will conduct 20 hours of research within a 10-week period by working in Funk’s lab and at campus greenhouses and field sites. Through the program, students will be introduced to various research approaches in the field of plant sciences, from plant growth measurements, analytical chemistry, field ecology, and data analyses.

“My focus on empowering female scientists at the high school level complements outstanding mentorship of female undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students in the Department of Plant Sciences,” said Funk. “Mentorship and outreach programs are needed at all levels to increase representation of women in the sciences.”

Funk was inspired to do this project from the success of a previous program that she directed for seven years at Chapman University with students from a nearby high school, which itself was inspired by a seemingly innocuous incident: a lab tour that Funk had agreed to give to high school students. While the students impressed her during the tour with their excitement and unusual questions, it was clear to her that none of them had spent much time thinking about plants or the environment, and few had the intention of pursuing a career in science.

“Shortly after this experience, I learned that many female and underrepresented minority students face barriers to careers in the sciences, and that these barriers take shape at a surprisingly young age,” said Funk. “I also learned that research experiences for high school and undergraduate students can enhance educational outcomes, including positive attitudes about scientific research and careers, and that these benefits appear to be particularly important for women and minorities.”

For the current research program, Funk will be joined by two of her female graduate students,  Anca Barcu, a horticulture and agronomy master’s student, and Katherine Brafford, a doctoral student of ecology, who will bring their unique perspectives to the project as mentors. She will also bring on two more female graduate students onto the project in the fall.

“I am thrilled to be the inaugural recipient of the Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award,” said Funk. “Mentoring student researchers is one of the most impactful activities that I perform as a faculty member.”

Webster Award launched in February

The Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award launched in February 2021.

The award is granted annually to support the scholarship of tenured or tenure-track faculty members who continue the outstanding legacy of Barbara Webster. Webster, an expert on plant development and structure, strove to create an environment for women to excel on the UC Davis campus and advocated for the increased participation of women and minorities in science. To learn more about the Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award, click here.

Local high school girls do science!

What happened next? Read about the program Funk created with her Webster Award here.