A Pioneer on Behalf of Women in Science
Inspired by her father, Sara Lee Schupf has supported various efforts that aim to encourage and support more women pursuing STEM careers.
Published November 1, 2001
By Fred Moreno, Dan Van Atta, Jill Stolarik, and Jennifer Tang
Academy Contributors

Sara Lee Schupf, the woman for whom Sara Lee Bakery is named, credits her father, Charles Lubin, for her personal interest in advancing science. “My father was dedicated to supporting science and he encouraged me to do the same,” Schupf explained. “He loved the Weizmann Institute in Israel and asked if I would continue his interests in Weizmann, when he was no longer able to do so.”
At the time her father died in 1988, Schupf was enrolled in the University Without Walls program at Skidmore College, majoring in Women’s Studies. Her final paper was on “Women in Science and Their Relationship to Their Fathers.” She quickly became aware of the obstacles women scientists face, which motivated her to strengthen her commitment to helping women succeed in science. “I soon realized that, as a woman with a name that could open doors, I had a responsibility to get those doors opened, and that I needed to focus my energies on women and girls in science and technology,” she said.
Advancing Women Participation in Science
Like her father, who engineered a long series of technological innovations that revolutionized bakeries and the frozen foods industry, Schupf also is a pioneer in initiating programs and projects that are helping to increase the participation of women in science. Her major accomplishments include establishing the Weizmann Women and Science Award, the first-ever national award that recognizes an outstanding woman scientist who can serve as a role model and encourage other women in science. At the same institution, she also initiated the first Women and Science Lecture Series.
Another first was her endowment of the first academic chair for a woman scientist at Skidmore College. To make role models and mentors more visible for pre-college women, she has endowed a teaching science internship at the Emma Willard School, a private secondary school. In May 2000, she chaired the Girls Claiming Science Symposium there.

Active in many science and women’s organizations, Schupf is Chair Emerita of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, a trustee of The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy), Skidmore College, the New York Hall of Science, and a member of the President’s Circle of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, Schupf has contributed to major scientific organizations.
Supporting Science Communications
Recently, Schupf made a serious contribution to the Academy, specifically for the SciEduNet web site. Schupf believes the SciEduNet site “is of a great value to the community and I hope that it will serve as a model for others around the country. SciEduNet provides information about programs and resources available in science. In addition, SciEduNet is a perfect vehicle to initiate collaborations between partners as diverse as public service organizations, parents, teachers, students, universities and other academies and museums,” she said.
Her commitment to SciEduNet reflects her dedication to encouraging more people to have an interest in science, especially women and girls. SciEduNet is one way to bring science to the people if the people do not know how to come to science. “I have learned that one person cannot do it alone. In order to have women take ownership of science, we must all join forces, and understand and use the important associations. We will see progress only when those who have the means or ability collaborate and work effectively together, be it mothers, scientists, philanthropists, businesswomen or teachers,” she said.
Also read: Strategies from Successful Women Scientists