I'll celebrate a dear friend, Dr. Terri Givens whom I met when we were grad students at UCLA. Terri is a professor of comparative politics and vice provost at the University of Texas, Austin. She inspires me by how successful she is as an academic and in balancing her professional life with her personal life as a mother of two. She has navigated the often treacherous waters of academia with grace and strength and she she reaches out to mentor students and other female and black academics. I can't point to any one thing I've learned from her just that she is one of the women I want to be when I grow up.

Interesting idea, would love to participate but there have been/are no female professors who have had a significant impact on my career/life. One would consider the very lack to be, itself, significant! It is a wonderful idea, but sadly indicative of the lack of women professors. The fact that we have to specifically set out to celebrate them makes me very sad.
The female professors I have indirectly experienced to date were examples to me, generally of what I do not want to be. One wasn't allowed to teach (too odd), one was too busy to care about her group (said yes to any admin duties and to hell with research, whilst maintaining a research group).
I'd celebrate Science Professor Woman the blogger: www.http://science-professor.blogspot.com/
For letting us know that it doesn't get any better when you get tenure and become a full professor, but mainly for letting us know that it is survivable.

The female professors that I had in my own undergrad and graduate years were either very insipidly bad, or so militant that I was not able to relate or relax in any way.

But now? I am a professor myself, and around me are other strong females who teach at the college level, and when I look around and compare/contrast them with the men who teach here, I see. . . . really, not all that much difference.

There are professors who stand out, here, but not because they are a 'female professor' or a 'male professor,' but simply because they are professors who stand out.

I have often thought that there is too much emphasis on gender, race, height, weight, shoe size, age, hair color. . . .and not enough emphasis on personality and accomplishment. I do not consider myself a 'woman professor,' and I do not consider the gentleman in the room next to me a "male professor." I consider us both teachers, and our sex has nothing to do with the work we both do. The head of my department is a very nice person named Carol, who happens to be a woman. I do not think of her as a 'female department head.' She is the department head. She's good. The department head across the hall from Carol is good, too. That department head is a man. It really doesn't matter, unless you're on the prowl, does it?

And if it does, why does it?

I believe in equality, as long as it's based on accomplishment, talent, work ethic, and work, period. Anything else is like throwing in a handicap because 'otherwise, this person just won't make it.' How condescendingly awkward.

But I've changed the subject, and for that, I do apologize.

I am a happy professor who happens to be a woman. I do not consider the 'woman' part to be of much significance when I am at school, other than for restroom purposes.

"Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum."