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Voices

Women’s Leadership Program director Ellen Taaffe says many women at work encounter the “mirrored door” phenomenon — the internal place where, when presented with opportunities, they reflect inward and hesitate, seeing themselves as unworthy or unready to move forward. This self-judgment, Taaffe says, can cause women to hold back from raising their hands or applying for a new role.

Read Taaffe’s essay

Portrait of Ellen Taaffe
Snorkeling, tightrope walking, woodworking and competitive whistling — you won’t believe what Northwestern community members are up to outside of the classroom and office!

Check out these hobbies

Portrait of Jeffery Coleman curling
In recent years, deepfake videos have been used to demand ransom, distribute revenge porn and influence elections. With the clamor for AI regulation growing louder every day, professor Subrahmanian says it is time to reflect on the threats posed by deepfakes — as well as potential benefits.

Read Subrahmanian’s essay

V.S. Subrahmanian smiles for a headshot.
Northwestern professors share how we successfully learn information — and how we can better retain it.

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A colorful image shows various silhouettes in different colors, each with a different subject in their brain.
An assistant professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, George Chiampas works for some of the world’s biggest sports teams and leagues. He is also chief medical and safety officer of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, an event he looks forward to every fall.

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Chicago Marathon runners stride over a bridge that crosses over the river, with tall skyscrapers in the back.
Coined by Northwestern associate professor Moya Bailey, the word “misogynoir” gives name to the specific type of prejudice that Black women experience in today’s society. Bailey sat down with Northwestern Magazine’s Diana Babineau to discuss the origin of the word, how the phenomenon persists today and the Digital Apothecary lab’s latest research endeavors.

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Moya Bailey stands smiling with her arms crossed next to large shelves of books at a library.
Literature can help us make sense of life’s biggest questions. And no one did that better than the great Russian novelists, says professor Gary Saul Morson.

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Gary Saul Morson
Members of the Northwestern community share the works of art — from classic American theater to a hit rock song — that have changed their outlook on life.

Find out what influenced them

Creative Influences S hero
In May 2022 Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History renovated its outdated Native North America exhibit hall and opened Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, a permanent exhibition. Doug Kiel, assistant professor of history at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a citizen of the Oneida Nation, served on the Native American advisory committee that spent 4 ½ years setting the agenda for the renovation and bringing it to life.

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Doug Kiel
Mesmin Destin’s psychosocial experiments have shown that social forces such as peers, parents, teachers and financial resources shape the academic experiences and life paths of young people. “The right message at the right time can change how someone feels about themself and transform the type of education and life that they might envision and pursue,” he says.

Read Destin’s essay

Mesmin Destin