BY PEGGY LUBCHENCO, GUEST COLUMNIST
Editor’s note: Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Dr. Ride, who held a doctorate in astrophysics from Stanford University, joined the faculty of UC San Diego as a physics professor after leaving NASA. She also founded Sally Ride Science, a science education company dedicated to motivating boys and girls to pursue careers in science, math, and technology. Peggy Lubchenco, a lecturer in the Teacher Education Program in UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, worked with Dr. Ride as a STEM consultant for Sally Ride Science. Peggy, who taught biology and earth science in Santa Barbara and Massachusetts before coming to UCSB, pays tribute to a friend, colleague, and passionate science education advocate.
Dr. Sally Ride, center, with the Santa Barbara School District team that attended SRS Academy. Peggy Lubchenco is below Dr. Ride at left. We lost an icon of science today as Sally Ride lost her battle with cancer. At the age of 61, Sally was too young, too vibrant to go. I knew Sally through my work with her STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education company, Sally Ride Science (SRS).
I had the privilege of receiving an email from her in 2009, inviting me to join her faculty of educators. I count that invitation as one of the great honors of my life.
Sally’s vision was to make sure that elementary and middle school students understood the scope of STEM careers available to them. She and her team sought funding from Exxon/Mobil Foundation and Northrup Grumman Foundation to bring together elementary and middle school educators from around the country to give them the tools to not only teach vital science concepts but also to pair those concepts with living scientists and science careers. She used her celebrity to open doors that would in turn benefit thousands of schoolchildren around the country. That was classic Sally: She used the limelight to improve science education, not to fan her own ego.
The first time I met Sally was after a SRS Academy planning meeting in La Jolla. As she entered the room, two things became apparent – her approachability and her intelligence. We casually talked about walking in space (it’s better than SCUBA diving), our unmanned space program (she supported it but not to the exclusion of manned flights), and her tennis career (she loved being athletic but her career in science trumped all).
She never seemed exasperated when quizzed about her two space missions from the early 1980s. None of us will ever know how many times she gracefully answered the question, “How do you go to the bathroom in space?” She was generous and kind to all curious people.
Sally Ride’s life is an example for all of us. Work hard, break through glass ceilings, do great things, and understand that your legacy is not about your success but about your contributions to your community, to your world.
Sally Ride made this a better world through her passion for quality science education. She helped open traditionally closed science fields to talented people of any gender, ethnicity, or religion. Sally became famous when she was launched into space, but she touched our hearts when she dedicated the rest of her life to opening doors for others. We will miss you, Sally.
For more on Dr. Sally Ride's life, read a New York Times obituary. Below is a University of California TV video of Dr. Ride presenting the Regent's Lecture at UC Berkeley on April 4, 2011, titled "Reach for the Stars With Sally Ride."