Because Phil was hired as a chemistry faculty member in 1969, she was initially barred from a Cal Poly faculty role and took a chemistry teaching job at Paso Robles High School for two years instead, which she embraced, Phil recalled.Īfter the university’s rules changed, Tina was hired on at Cal Poly as a part-time chemistry lecturer in 1972, when only two of the 152 tenure-track faculty (1.3%) were women in the then School of Science and Mathematics. After earning a doctorate, Tina initially wasn’t allowed to be employed at Cal Poly because of nepotism rules at the time, which often affected female spouses like Tina. But there’s no question that I had more opportunities than she did.”įormer colleagues said Tina told them male professors in graduate school failed to show confidence in her work, which she largely cultivated on her own. Hard work leads to opportunities, they say, and we both worked hard. ![]() “But she had a much more challenging time than I did. “We were both better in our careers because of each other and supported each other tremendously,” Phil Bailey said. from Purdue University, both in chemistry.Įntering a workplace culture with prevalent bias against women in STEM in the 1960s and 1970s, Tina showed patience and perseverance. Elizabeth University in New Jersey and a Ph.D. Tina was the first in her family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree from St. Both parents struggled with addiction and died in their early 50s, said Phil Bailey, who served as the Cal Poly College of Science and Mathematics dean for 34 years and taught almost every term for 48 years. ![]() Tina’s mother had an eighth-grade education and her father a high school diploma. She was born in Brooklyn in 1942 to Lithuanian-immigrant parents. I only had Tina for one class, but if someone asks who are the people that touched my life the most, Tina Bailey is one of them.”įrom an early age, Tina’s journey was far from smooth. Former student Julie Erickson wrote: “She knows it is important to encourage women to pursue further education, when women are sometimes not prompted to go on to graduate school. Letters of support for her CSU Outstanding Professor Award in 1992-1993 shed light on the various ways that Tina uplifted lives. That was highly influential to me and others around her.” Tina was strong but welcoming and encouraging. ![]() “Some people can be strong and overbearing. “She had a very strong personality, but in a good way,” said fellow chemistry Professor Grace Neff, hired in 1999. Tina, who passed away in 2020, and her husband, Phil, were honored in May 2023 with the approval by the California State University (CSU) of the newly named Philip and Christina Bailey College of Science and Mathematics.Ī role model as a mentor, teacher and mother, Tina is remembered for her leadership and for helping cultivate a college culture of collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Over the course of four decades at Cal Poly, she served as a trailblazer for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through her influential roles teaching chemistry and mentoring students and fellow female faculty. Instead of letting those hurdles slow her down, Bailey stayed focused and determined, according to former colleagues and students. ![]() Subtle and overt perceptions about inferiority and early stumbling blocks presented obstacles in Tina’s career. Navigating a career in academia as a woman in the sciences in the 1970s was no easy task, and Christina “Tina” Bailey easily could have been deterred at multiple key points along the way. OVERCOMING HARDSHIP AND GENDER BIAS TO BECOME A TRAILBLAZING SCIENTIST, PROFESSOR AND MENTOR
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