Ann Colbert, director of the Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) journalism program, will travel to England March 15 through 19 to present at an Oxford University Roundtable.

At the “Women in Academy: Status and Prospects” discussions, Colbert will present on the way the media handled the announcements and follow-up stories about the women who won Nobel Prizes for 2009 in scientific areas. They are appropriate subjects for study because they are also attached to universities or university hospitals to conduct their research.

Colbert’s central message is that even high-achieving women are still presented as oddities or are given lower status treatment by the media. As an example, she refers to the early coverage of Indiana University’s Elinor Ostrom, the first woman Economics Laureate. The article about Ostrom had information about her husband’s career early in the story, although none of the stories about the male winners mentioned their wives’ accomplishments.

Women from all disciplines, representing universities from England, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States will present at the invitation-only event. “This is serious validation of my ongoing work about media and women,” said Colbert. “I am flattered and flabbergasted at the same time.”