About the WRC
Leslie Sue Lieberman, Ph.D.
Leslie Sue Lieberman, Ph.D. is a Professor of Anthropology, Courtesy Professor of Medical Education and the founding Director of the Women's Research Center at the University of Central Florida. She is a biomedical anthropologist with research specializations in type 2 diabetes, nutrition and obesity especially among US minority women. She also has worked in Croatia since 1988.
The Women’s Research Center conducts activities related to the advancement of women on campus and in the Central Florida area. Recent research has included a campus quality of life survey, a study of sexual harassment among students and an assessment of women leaders in the Orlando area.
Dr. Lieberman is the former President of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition and the Biological Anthropology Section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), the Florida Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Academies of Science and both the University of Florida and University of Central Florida Chapters of Sigma Xi. She is a AAAS fellow and has been the recipient of many awards including the Florida Academy of Sciences medal and the Gorjanovic-Kramberger Award from the Croatian Anthropology Society.
Her research has been supported by NIH, NSF, HRSA, NIMH and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Diabetes Research and Education Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Florida Humanities Council, among others.
Dr. Lieberman has co-authored or edited 11 books and published over 70 journal articles and book chapters and more than 200 other works: reports, reviews, editorials.
Ms. Fran Ragsdale
Fran Ragsdale joined the WRC in Oct/01. She is from Canada originally, relocating to the USA in 1998. She graduated with a Business Administration certificate from Success Business College in 1980. Her past work experience was with Nortel Canada for 17 years as a Field Service Engineering Specialist for Western Canada. She has extensive experience in computer applications and with digital telephone hardware and software applications. Her past work experiences have been proven to be instrumental in achieving the goals of The Women's Research Center.