Melissa Latimer wanted to discover why things happened.

In her professional career, she settled on identifying and eradicating unfairness in society. That’s what she’s worked to do as an associate professor of sociology and instructor of women’s studies.

Latimer is also working to bring about change that will encourage women to be able to stay in fields at West Virginia University in which they are typically the minority. Faculty members of either sex are increasingly striving to achieve a balance between work and the rest of their life.

She directs the WVU ADVANCE Center, part of a $3.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation that is intended to recruit, retain and promote women in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

She knows how easy it is to be consumed in work, but she’s found that playing in her band Second Cousin, which includes other WVU faculty members, has helped her to keep as much of a balance as possible.

Find out more about Latimer as a scientist and how she balances her personal and work lives on this new video, the first in a series of videos that give glimpses into the lives of the female faculty at WVU showing the meeting place between who they are and what they do.

-WVU-

js/05/07/12

CONTACT: Melissa Latimer, WVU ADVANCE Center
304.293.0278, Melissa.Latimer@mail.wvu.edu

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