A Wisconsin university that opened in 1871 as a teacher-training school, a Johns Hopkins lecture series on access in medicine and UB's 28th undergraduate research conference
Baxter speaks at a Howard University seminar in October 2023. Photo: Stacy Farina, Howard University
Dr. Raven Baxter spoke at three universities in the first half of 2023. She addressed the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh on Feb. 14, Johns Hopkins on May 15 and the University at Buffalo on June 29.
The audiences ranged from a campus women's center marking a United Nations day for women in science, to a lecture series on a medical campus, to undergraduates weighing graduate school.
The talks followed a new federal count of who works in science. On Jan. 30, 2023, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics reported that women held 35% of STEM jobs in 2021, up 3 percentage points from 2011. Hispanic, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native workers held 24%, up from 18%.
At Oshkosh, the UW Oshkosh Women's Center and its student Women's Advocacy Council hosted Baxter in Reeve Memorial Union. The evening was part of the center's programming for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which the United Nations observes each Feb. 11. The university opened in 1871 as the Oshkosh State Normal School, a school for training teachers. The Women's Center stated its mission as working to "build the personal, academic and professional capacity of women by providing opportunities to connect, serve and lead."
In Baltimore, Baxter gave the Spring 2023 lecture of the Equal Access in Science and Medicine series. She spoke in the Chevy Chase Auditorium at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, with a second audience on Zoom. A committee on the Johns Hopkins medical campus runs the series, which held lectures in 2021. The committee's announcement described Baxter as "a science communicator, molecular biologist, STEM educator, and advocate for underrepresented groups in STEM." The committee arranged live captioning in the room and online, and a catered reception after the talk.
The university's flyer for the Journey to a PhD workshop. Image: University at Buffalo Undergraduate Research Conference
For the University at Buffalo, where she earned her Ph.D., Baxter led "Journey to a PhD" online. It was the pre-conference workshop for the 28th Annual University at Buffalo Undergraduate Research Conference, which UB held July 20 and 21. The conference welcomes undergraduate researchers, including students from the McNair, Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program and Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation programs. UB's flyer said Baxter "will share her inspiring journey to earning her PhD and how she uses her platform to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to explore science."
A molecular biologist, Baxter held a drug discovery job in 2016 and 2017 before she moved into teaching. Known online as Dr. Raven the Science Maven, she focused her doctoral research at Buffalo on science communication.
The UB Undergraduate Research Conference describes its program on its website.
Dr. Raven Baxter joined National Fair Housing Alliance President and CEO Lisa Rice on June 28, 2026, for a fireside chat on housing discrimination at the alliance's national conference in Washington.
Dr. Raven Baxter joined three fellow University at Buffalo alumnae on the UB Distinguished Keynote Panel at the 4th Annual WNY Leadership Summit on May 29, 2026.
Dr. Raven Baxter made the case for training and support for scientists online on Geeks for America's Geeks Live on April 21, 2026.
