5.30.2011

June Highlights in U.S. Women's History

June 1, 1993 - Connie Chung becomes the second woman to co-anchor the evening news, 17 years after Barbara Walters became the first in 1976 
June 9, 1949 - Georgia Neese Clark confirmed as the first woman treasurer of the United States   
June 10, 1963 - Equal Pay Act enacted: "To prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce." (PL 88-38)
June 11, 1913 - Women in Illinois celebrate passage of a state woman suffrage bill allowing women to vote in presidential elections
June 17, 1873 - Susan B. Anthony's trial started for illegally voting in Rochester , New York on November 5, 1872
June 18, 1983 - Dr. Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space
June 20, 1921 - Alice Robertson ((R-Oklahoma) becomes the first woman to chair the House of Representatives 
June 23, 1972 - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, President Nixon signs one of the most important legislation initiatives passed for women and girls since women won the vote in 1920. This legislation guarantees equal access and equal opportunity for females and males in almost all aspects of our educational systems. 
June 25, 1903 - Madame Marie Curie announces her discovery of radium

June Birthdays 
June 3, 1906 (1975) - Josephine Baker, dancer and jazz singer; fought racism
June 7, 1917 (2000)
- Gwendolyn Brooks, poet; first African American to win a
Pulitzer Prize 

June 11, 1880 (1973) - Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to Congress; pacifist and suffragist 
June 14, 1811 (1896) - Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin 
June 14, 1952 - Pat Summit, coach of Tennessee 's Women's Basketball team. She scored the most wins in NCAA history - 900 victories in 32 years 
June 16, 1902 (1992) - Barbara McClintock, biologist, Nobel Prize Winner in 1983
June 17, 1865 (1915)
- Susan La Flesche Picotte, first Native American physician
June 18, 1913 (1991)
- Sylvia Porter, finance columnist and author 
June 21, 1912 (1989) - Mary McCarthy, author and critic June 22, 1906 (1993) - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, aviator, poet and author 
June 22, 1909 (2006) - Katherine Dunham, dancer and choreographer; combined African movement and classical ballet 
June 23, 1940 (1994) - Wilma Rudolph, athlete; first woman runner to win 3 gold medals in a single Olympics 
June 26, 1902 (1989) - Antonia Brico, conductor, pianist; first women to conduct a world-class symphony orchestra in 1938 
June 26, 1911 or 1914 (1956) - Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, athlete; outstanding in basketball, track, swimming, golf, and billiards
June 27, 1880 (1968) - Helen Keller, advocate for the disabled; writer and lecturer
June 30, 1883 (1970) - Dorothy Tilly, civil rights reformer; investigated and protested lynching in Georgia  

June 30, 1917 (2010) - Lena Horne, first African American woman to sign long-term Hollywood contract; fought for contracts guaranteeing African Americans could attend her shows 

5.23.2011

Women's History Month Student Showcase 2011

The Center for Women and Gender is celebrating Women’s History Month 2011 with the national theme “Our History is Our Strength” by showcasing the academic works of USU students. Works were submitted by and/or about women, centering on the Women's History Month theme.

See USU press release http://m.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=49003.

Works were shown and winners announced at the celebration on April 5 in the USU Merrill-Cazier Library. 



Contest participants Cheneil Leavitt (2nd from left) and Rachel Bustamonte (far left)
enjoy refreshments at the Showcase.
Submissions were judged by area experts from USU. The People's Choice Award was chosen by the USU community. Winners received a cash prize (winner's names are highlighted in green). Thanks to all the participants and congrats to our winners!


Category 1: Research: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Winner: An Empirical Study of Student Programming Bugs by Nare Hayrapetyan
Nare Hayrapetyan, won with her entry of a research project on women students in computer majors.
Category 2: Research: Social Sciences, Education, and Business
Winner: Spirituality of the Feminine by Rachael Steineckert
Rachel Steineckert accepts her prize for first place in the social science research category.
Winners of the visual arts category accept their award for their
entry of a female-ergonomic women's health center.
Category 5: Visual Arts
Winner: Women's Health Clinic Design by Casssandra Carter, Danielle Domichel, Laura Tafoya
People's Choice Award: Pink Laundry by Heidi Bruner
Photographer Heidi Bruner, who won People's Choice Award,
with her piece, "Pink Laundry."























Category 6: Written Works
Winner: Tough Girls by Cheneil Leavitt
Cheneil Leavitt won first place in the written works category with her moving  non-fiction story, "Tough Girls."













Category 7: Performing Arts 
Winner: Strength in History by Rebecca Tanner


 Listen (above) to performing arts winner Rebecca Tanner play her song, "Strength in History."
            

5.15.2011

Syria women protesters are targeted in crackdown

Syria in crackdown on women The Australian - May 16, 2011

WOMEN protesters are being targeted as President Bashar al-Assad launches a fresh crackdown on Syria's anti-government demonstrators.   

A female human rights activist was detained as thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the country for a "Friday of Free Women" protest in solidarity with those killed or imprisoned in the eight-week uprising.

Up to 850 demonstrators have died since the protests began, the UN said.

Four women were shot dead last week when troops opened fire on protesters in the village of Merqeb near the coastal city of Banias. Dozens of female activists have been arrested.

Human rights activist Catherine al-Talli, 32, was detained by police in the Barzeh district of Damascus at 6pm on Friday.

She was forced off a minibus when it was stopped at a checkpoint by the secret police, who took her away.

"We have no idea where she is," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. "The targeting of women is a new thing. It has angered Syrian society."

Video footage showing the bodies of female protesters killed in Banias has been posted on YouTube.
Six demonstrators were shot dead on Friday, despite an order from the President not to fire on protesters.

At least three more demonstrators were killed yesterday in the border town of Tall Kalakh.

"The security forces, who had been encircling Tall Kalakh since the morning, fired machine guns," a witness said.

A hospital source across the border in Lebanon said a man named Ali Basha, who was admitted to a Lebanese hospital after fleeing Syria with gunshot wounds, had died of his injuries.

More than 500 people, mostly women and children, fled across the border, town councillor Mahmud Khazaal said.

Razan Zeitouneh, 34, a female human rights activist, is wanted by the authorities. She went into hiding in March after she was accused on state television of being a foreign agent.

She had passed on information about conditions in the besieged southern town of Daraa to the foreign press.

Police last week arrested her husband, Wa'el Hammada, who is also an activist.

Two weeks earlier, intelligence officers raided their home, hoping to arrest him. Mr Hammada was not there so they arrested his 20-year-old brother. Neither man has been heard of since.

Ms Zeitouneh said it was too painful for her to think of how her husband was being treated.

"I'm trying not to think about that. Dozens of my friends have been arrested. We all share this great pain," she said.

She dismissed the government's plans for national dialogue as meaningless. "It is a lie," she said. "They have opened a dialogue with individuals who represent only themselves."

She has gone underground but continues to publicise human rights abuses online.

The Name Change Dilemma

The Name Change Dilemma by Sue Shellenbarger
Friday, May 13, 2011 - Wall Street Journal

More women are taking their new husbands' names after marriage, research shows. But the decision continues to spark debate and confusion.

The trend toward women keeping their maiden names after marriage peaked in the 1990s, when about 23% of women did so, then eased gradually to about 18% in the 2000s, says a 35-year-study published in 2009 in the journal Social Behavior and Personality. And increasingly, studies show women's decisions on the issue are guided by factors other than political or religious ideas about women's rights or marital roles, as often believed.

Well-educated women in high-earning occupations are significantly more likely to keep their maiden names, the study shows. Brides in professional fields such as medicine, the arts or entertainment are the most likely of all to do so. Age makes a big difference too, according to a 2010 study in a scholarly journal entitled "Names: A Journal of Onomastics." Women who married when they were 35 to 39 years old were 6.4 times more likely to keep their names than women who married between the ages of 20 and 24.

In fact, the idea that women who keep their maiden names are better breadwinners is becoming a stereotype that some people use as a basis for judging women's ability. In a Dutch study published last year in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology, researchers had 90 students compare hypothetical women they had met at a party based on whether they took their husband's names. Those who did were judged as more caring, dependent and emotional, while those who kept their names were seen as smarter and more ambitious.

Researchers also asked 50 students to screen e-mails containing hypothetical job applications from women. The candidates who had kept their maiden names were more likely to be hired and were offered salaries averaging 40% higher than their name-changing peers. (Among limitations of the study, the sample was made up of students who probably lacked much job experience or other criteria upon which to base their judgments.)

Either way, picking a last name can be fraught with complications. Some women lie awake nights before their weddings trying to decide what to do. For women who change their minds later, some vendors even offer "name change kits." Still, changing your name mid-career, as some of my colleagues have done, can lead to confusion among co-workers, clients or in my profession, readers and sources.

Splitting the difference by keeping both names, as many women do, "is a recipe for confusion," one woman writes in an email. She kept her maiden name professionally but uses her married name sometimes outside work. Now, "I never know how to introduce myself," she says. Her driver's license bears one name and her voter registration the other, and she receives summonses for jury duty in both names.

My Juggle colleague Rachel also uses two different names -- her maiden name professionally and her married name personally and officially -- which can lead to lots of mixups, she says. "Readers and colleagues know me by one name and the HR department, friends and the IRS know me by another," she tells me. "I didn't want to give up my byline, which I've had for many years. But changing my name was important to my husband for a lot of reasons, and ultimately we wanted our family members to all have the same name."

5.10.2011

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month


Began as a focal week in 1977, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month became a month-long celebration in 1980. May was chosen as the focal month because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843. This focal celebration provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander American women in schools, communities, and workplaces throughout the country.


May Highlights in US Women's History

May 1, 1950 - Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; named Library of Congress's Consultant in Poetry (later called Poet Laureate) in 1985.

May 5, 1938 - Dr. Dorothy H. Andersen presents results of her medical research identifying the disease cystic fibrosis at a meeting of the American Pediatric Association.

May 8, 1914 - President Woodrow Wilson signs a Proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

May 10, 1872 - Victoria Woodhull is nominated as the first woman candidate for U.S. president for the Equal Rights Party.

May 12, 1968 - A 12-block Mother's Day march of "welfare mothers" is held in Washington, D.C., D.C., led by Coretta Scott King accompanied by Ethel Kennedy.

May 21, 1932 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to complete a solo. transatlantic flight. She flew from Newfoundland to Ireland, a 2,026-mile trip, in just under 15 hours.

May 21, 1973 - Lynn Genesko, a swimmer, receives the first athletic scholarship awarded to a woman (University of Miami of Miami).

May 29, 1977 - Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to qualify for and complete the Indy 500 car race.

May Birthdays

May 1, 1830 (1930) - Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, labor leader and organizer

May 3, 1898 (1987) - Septima Clark, educator; Civil Rights activist; called "Grandmother of Civil Rights Movement"

May 3, 1912 (1995) - May Sarton, prolific writer and poet, professor

May 5, 1864 (1922) - Elizabeth Seaman, pen name "Nelly Bly", journalist; wrote expose of mental asylum (1887); set a record for circling the world in 72 days (1890)

May 11, 1875 (1912) - Harriet Quimby, first American woman licensed air pilot (1911), first woman to fly across the English Channel (1912)

May 11, 1894 (1991) - Martha Graham, modern dance innovator and choreographer

May 11, 1906 (1975) - Lt. Ethel Weed, military officer in the Women's Army Corp.; promoted women's rights and suffrage in Japan

May 15, 1937 - Madeline Albright, first woman to be U.S. Secretary of State (1997-2001)

May 19, 1930 (1965) - Lorraine Hansberry, first African American woman to produce a play on Broadway, "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959)

May 23, 1810 (1850) - Margaret Fuller, author, editor, journalist, literary critic, educator, Transcendentalist, and women's rights advocate

May 26, 1951 - Sally Ride, astrophysicist, first American woman astronaut

May 27, 1907 (1964) - Rachel Carson, scientist and environmentalist; wrote "Silent Spring" which became cornerstone of modern environmental protection movement

May 31, 1912 (1997) - Chien-Shiung Wu, renowned physicist; first woman elected President of American Physical Society in 1975, elected to National Academy of Science (1958), received National Medal of Science (1975)

4.10.2011

Victory for women in 2014 Winter Olympics

This is a victory for women everywhere: the 2014 Winter Olympics will include for the first time a ski jump event for women. Click here to read the story, "U.S. women's ski jumpers excited, relieved after decision" about how U.S. women competitors are feeling about the change.

Why so Few Women on the Forbes Fictional 15?

Click here to read the story by Michael Noer, published March 10, 2011


File:Peach Mario 2.jpg

April Women's History Highlights and Birthdays

April 2, 1931 - 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell, the second woman to play baseball in the all-male minor leagues, pitches an exhibition game against NY Yankees and strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The next day, the Baseball Commissioner voided her contract, claiming baseball was too strenuous for women. The ban was not overturned until 1992 .


April 5, 1911 - 100,000 to 500,000 people march in New York City to attend the funeral of 7 unidentified people who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in late March.

April 7, 1805 - Sacagawea begins helping the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter.

April 7, 1987 - Opening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington , DC , the first museum devoted to women artists.

April 9, 1939 - Marian Anderson sings an Easter Sunday concert for more than 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial.

April 13, 1933 - Ruth Bryan Owens is the first woman to represent the U.S. as a foreign minister when she is appointed as envoy to Denmark.

April 19, 1977 - 15 women in the House of Representatives form the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.

April 22, - Earth Day - honor Rachel Carson today, a woman who changed America and greatly influenced the environmental movement.

April 26, 1777 - American Revolution heroine Sybil Ludington, 16 years old, rides 40 miles by horseback in the middle of the night to warn the American militia that the British were invading.

April 28, 1993 - First "Take Our Daughters to Work" Day, sponsored by the Ms. Foundation; in 2003 it became "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" Day.

April Birthdays

April 3, 1934 - Jane Goodall, primatologist and conservationist; world's foremost authority on chimpanzees

April 4, 1928 - Maya Angelou, author, poet, civil rights activist, actress; composed and read her poem at President Clinton's inauguration in 1993

April 7, 1944 (2002) - Julia Miller Phillips, film producer; first woman to win a Best Picture Academy Award (1973, "The Sting") as a producer; also produced "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Taxi Driver"

April 9, 1887 (1953) - Florence Price, first African American woman symphony composer

April 10, 1880 or 1882 (1965) - Frances Perkins, first woman cabinet member, Secretary of Labor in 1933; key contributor to the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act

April 10, 1903 (1987) - Clare Booth Luce, playwright, Congresswoman (R-CT), Ambassador to Italy (1953-1956)

April 10, 1930 - Delores Huerta, Chicana activist; co-founder United Farm Workers union

April 13, 1909 (2001) - Eudora Welty, writer, won Pulitzer prize for Fiction in 1973; photographer; winner of Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Literature, and the French Legion d'Honneur

April 14, 1866 (1936) - Anne Sullivan Macy, famous teacher of Helen Keller who was blind, deaf, and mute; the two worked and traveled together

April 25, 1917 (1996) - Ella Fitzgerald, "First Lady of Song", internationally renowned jazz singer, winner of 13 Grammy Awards

April 27, 1927 (2006) - Coretta Scott King, civil rights, human rights, and peace activist

April 30, 1939 - Ellen Zwilich, first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music (1983)

3.25.2011

Women’s History Month Student Showcase at USU

The Center for Women and Gender will be celebrating Women’s History Month 2011 with a Student Showcase at Utah State University, paying tribute to the women who have taken action to help create a better world.

USU students have submitted academic works relating to the national Women’s History Month theme “Our History is Our Strength”. All works will be displayed at a Student Showcase on April 5 in the Merrill-Cazier Library 101 from 4 to 7 p.m. The public and USU community are welcome to attend.

Ann Austin, director of the Center for Women and Gender, said, “Realizing the importance of women’s work and how it shaped history is something we hope this showcase will accomplish, as well as help students see how their own contributions will shape women’s futures.”

Works are being judged by professors of USU based on relation to the theme, quality and creativity. Winners will be announced by April 1. There will be a $150 cash award for the top submissions, one from each category: visual arts, written works, performance arts, social science and technology. A People’s Choice Award will be given for one work, as voted on by the public. To vote, view the works and fill out the survey at http://www.usu.edu/womenandgender.

Submissions are by or about women, and focus on a personal level, and not on iconic women from history, such as Amelia Earhart. Works submitted range from choreography to a website.

Austin said the purpose of the work is to tell a story of the subject’s history and how those experiences strengthen the fabric of our collective history, and thus our future.

Diane Stuart, program coordinator for the Center, said, “The importance of these young women being recognized shouldn’t be overlooked. We hope that not only the community, but the students themselves, see how wonderful they are.”

For information on the Women’s History Month Student Showcase 2011, visit http://www.usu.edu/womenandgender/ or call Melissa Keller, 435-797-9222.

3.19.2011

Presidential Proclamation: Women's History Month, 2011

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, 2011

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

During Women's History Month, we reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments of women and honor their role in shaping the course of our Nation's history. Today, women have reached heights their mothers and grandmothers might only have imagined. Women now comprise nearly half of our workforce and the majority of students in our colleges and universities. They scale the skies as astronauts, expand our economy as entrepreneurs and business leaders, and serve our country at the highest levels of government and our Armed Forces. In honor of the pioneering women who came before us, and in recognition of those who will come after us, this month, we recommit to erasing the remaining inequities facing women in our day.

This year, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. International Women's Day is a chance to pay tribute to ordinary women throughout the world and is rooted in women's centuries-old struggle to participate in society on an equal footing with men. This day reminds us that, while enormous progress has been made, there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity.

My Administration has elevated the rights of women and girls abroad as a critical aspect of our foreign and national security policy. Empowering women across the globe is not simply the right thing to do, it is also smart foreign policy. This knowledge is reflected in the National Security Strategy of the United States, which recognizes that countries are more peaceful and prosperous when their female citizens enjoy equal rights, equal voices, and equal opportunities. Today, we are integrating a focus on women and girls in all our diplomatic efforts, and incorporating gender considerations in every aspect of our development assistance. We are working to build the participation of women into all aspects of conflict prevention and resolution, and we are continuing to lead in combating the scourge of conflict related sexual violence, both bilaterally and at the United Nations.

In America, we must lead by example in protecting women's rights and supporting their empowerment. Despite our progress, too many women continue to be paid less than male workers, and women are significantly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. By tapping into the potential and talents of all our citizens, we can utilize an enormous source of economic growth and prosperity. The White House Council on Women and Girls has continued to remove obstacles to achievement by addressing the rate of violence against women, supporting female entrepreneurs, and prioritizing the economic security of women. American families depend largely on the financial stability of women, and my Administration continues to prioritize policies that promote workplace flexibility, access to affordable, quality health care and child care, support for family caregivers, and the enforcement of equal pay laws. I have also called on every agency in the Federal Government to be part of the solution to ending violence against women, and they have responded with unprecedented cooperation to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence and enable survivors to break the cycle of abuse.

As we reflect on the triumphs of the past, we must also look to the limitless potential that lies ahead. To win the future, we must equip the young women of today with the knowledge, skills, and equal access to reach for the promise of tomorrow. My Administration is making unprecedented investments in education and is working to expand opportunities for women and girls in the STEM fields critical for growth in the 21st century economy.

As we prepare to write the next chapter of women's history, let us resolve to build on the progress won by the trailblazers of the past. We must carry forward the work of the women who came before us and ensure our daughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements, and no remaining ceilings to shatter.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2011 as Women's History Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, 2011 with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that honor the history, accomplishments, and contributions of American women. I also invite all Americans to visit www.WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the generations of women who have shaped our history.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America

Women's History Month Quiz

Can You Identify These Women of Great Vision and Achievement Whose History Is Our Strength?

1. Who became the first female Secretary of State of the United States, appointed by President Clinton in 1997?
2. Who took over management of Columbia Sportswear Company in the late 1930's, when it was near bankruptcy, and turned it into the largest American ski apparel company worth $4 billion in 1972?
3. Who was the first woman in modern history to lead a major Native-American tribe, the Cherokee Nation?
4. Who was the first American woman poet whose poetry was published in London in 1650?
5. Who is considered the first American woman to be ordained by full denominational authority in 1864, and who also campaigned vigorously for full woman suffrage?
6. Who was the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress and was a founding member of the National Women's Political Caucus?
7. Who was the ecologist writer whose path breaking book, "Silent Spring" in 1962 initiated the environmental movement?
8. Who was the first black woman and the youngest poet laureate in American history when she was appointed in 1993?
9. Who was imprisoned and then hanged for her Quaker faith in Boston in 1660, and 400 years later her statue was placed in front of the state House?
10. Who was the female lawyer who worked for equal rights and suffrage, co-founded the ACLU in 1910, and helped write the Equal Rights Amendment?
11. Who led the fight to criminalize lynching, helped form the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and aided many black people who migrated from the South to Chicago?
12. Who became the first female president of Harvard University when she was named its 28th president in 2007?
13. Who became the first woman vice-president candidate on a major political party ticket when selected in 1984?
14. Who volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War, earning the nickname "Mother," and after peace became an attorney advocating for veterans?
15. Who was the United States delegate to the United Nations who championed and won approval of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948?
16. Who earned a graduate degree from Oberlin College in 1888, was the first black woman to serve on a Board of Education (in D.C.), sued to integrate restaurants in the 1950's, integrated the American Association of University Women at age 85, and was a founding member of NAACP?
17. Who wrote "The Feminine Mystique" in 1968 and became a leading figure in the Women's Movement?
18. Who was the first woman promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force (1971) and the first female major general in any armed forces in 1973?
19. Who was a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy credited with developing the COBOL computer language, and with coining the phrase "debugging" to fix a computer?
20. Who was one of the first black physicians in New York City and the first black woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital medical school in 1926?

Answers:
1. Madeleine Albright (b. 1937)
2. Gertrude Boyle (b. 1925)
3. Wilma Mankiller (1945 - 2010)
4. Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672)
5. Olympia Brown (1835 - 1926)
6. Patsy Mink (1927-2002)
7. Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
8. Rita Dove (b. 1952)
9. Mary Dyer (c. 1611 - 1660)
10. Crystal Eastman (1881 - 1928)
11. Ida Wells-Barnett (1862 - 1931)
12. Drew Gilpin Faust (b. 1947)
13. Geraldine Ferraro (b. 1935)
14. Mary Bickerdyke (1817 - 1901)
15. Eleanor Roosevelt Oct. 11, 1884- Nov. 7, 1962
16. Mary Church Terrell (1863 - 1954)
17. Betty Friedan (1921 - 2006)
18. Major General Jeanne Holm (1921 - 2010)
19. Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Hopper (1906 - 1992)
20. May Chinn (1896 - 1980)

1.20.2011

Feminist and Mormon: Reconciling Ideals of Equality and a Culture of Patriarchy

Do you identify as an active, believing Mormon woman, and as a feminist? Researchers at Oregon State University would like to hear from you.

Dr. Susan Shaw, Director of Women Studies at Oregon State University, is the principle investigator in a study of women who identify as both active, believing Mormons and as feminists. The purpose of this study is to explore the ways women who identify as both feminist and as Mormon integrate feminist ideals of equality with patriarchal ideals of Mormonism. This study is being conducted by a student for the completion of a thesis. Up to 15 individuals will take part in this study.

If you choose to participate, you will be given a written questionnaire with questions about your background, and then you will be interviewed. The interview will be transcribed and compared with the transcripts of other participants. Your questionnaire responses will also be compared with the questionnaire responses of other participants. Interviews will take place in person when possible, in your home or office, or in a study room of a library close to you. If distance is prohibitive, interviews can take place over the phone.

The study activities include:

-A brief demographic questionnaire that will take about 10 minutes to complete
-A semi-structured individual interview about your experiences and understandings as a Mormon feminist that will take approximately 1 to 2 hours.
-Your interview will be audio recorded and transcribed.
-The researcher will compile your answers with answers from other participants and look for patterns.

If interested please contact:

Julie George
georgeju@onid.orst.edu
Oregon State University
Women Studies Department
200 Gilkey Hall
Corvallis, Oregon 97331
971-221-3693

1.12.2011

Women’s History Month: Our History is Our Strength Student Showcase Contest

An Invitation to ALL USU Students:

The Center for Women and Gender will be celebrating Women’s History Month 2011 with the national theme “Our History is Our Strength” paying tribute to the millions of women who have taken action to help create a better world for the times in which they lived, as well as for future generations. We’d like to invite all USU students to participate in this significant celebration by creating and sharing a work by and/or about women that centers on this theme.

The accounts of women’s achievements are integral to the fabric of our history. Learning about women’s tenacity, courage, and creativity throughout the centuries is a tremendous source of strength. Until relatively recently, this sphere of women's history was overlooked and undervalued. Women’s achievements were often distorted, disdained, and denied. But the knowledge of women’s accounts will provide valuable inspiration and even essential role models for everyone. Role models are genuinely needed to face the extraordinary changes and unrelenting challenges of the 21st century.

Works will be judged by a panel from supporting groups of Women’s History Month at USU. There will be a cash award for the top seven submissions, one from each category. Additionally, where possible, all qualified submissions will be published as conference proceedings. Selected individuals will showcase their work during an award ceremony on April 5, 2011. You are invited to submit a work from any college or department of Utah State University to one of the following seven categories:
Category 1, Research: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Category 2, Research: Social Sciences, Education, and Business
Category 3, Research: Agriculture, Natural Resources
Category 4, Audio and Video Works
Category 5, Visual Arts
Category 6, Written Works
Category 7, Performance Arts

Examples of submissions include, but are not limited to:
Displays, designs, posters, artifacts, research summaries, monologues, choreography, short plays, music compositions, song lyrics, computer graphics, paintings, sculpture, pottery, collages, sketches, photos, costumes, articles, news broadcasts, radio narrations, poems, essays, short stories.

Submission guidelines:
1. Include the name(s), major, minor, and year in school of those responsible for creating the work.
2. The work must center on the theme as described above, “Our History is Our Strength” in regards to Women’s History Month. This means the work MUST be by a woman (women) and/or about women.
3. Submissions should focus on a personal level. This includes oneself, close friends, family, etc. Do not center works on iconic women from history, such as Amelia Earhart. The work should tell a story of the subject’s history and how those experiences strengthen the fabric of our collective history, and thus our future. Our shared history unites families, communities, and nations. Although women’s history is intertwined with the history shared with men, several factors - social, religious, economic, and biological - have worked to create a unique sphere of women's history.
4. Works should include a written explanation if it is not obvious in the work itself of whom the work centers and why their history is our strength. This should be typed and not exceed 350 words.
5. Works should adhere to the USU academic honesty policy. All works must be original.
6. Submissions are due by March 15, 2011, at 5 pm in the Center for Women and Gender, TSC 309, with all materials packaged in a labeled envelope including the category the submission falls under. For works that cannot be packaged, such as a piece of art, submit the work in the form of a video, photo, etc.
7. A person or group may not submit more than one work.
8. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines will not be considered.

Works will be judged on the following criteria:
1. Relevance to the theme “Our History is Our Strength”.
2. Ability to express the theme within the work.
3. Creativity and uniqueness.
4. Presentation quality.

Submissions are due March 15, 2011, at 5 pm in Center for Women and Gender, TSC 309.
Questions? Call Diane Stuart, 435-797-3703.

1.05.2011

USU's Women's History Month Event Schedule Spring 2011: Our History is Our Strength

  • Jan. 26: Dr. Susan Shaw "They Didn’t Teach Me That in Sunday School: Feminism and the Bible" Library 101, 2:30 - 4:30 pm
  • Feb. 14: "Vagina Monologues" TSC Auditorium 7:00 pm
  • Feb. 2: Li Guo "Narratives of Chinese Women in Early Twentieth Century" TSC 335 3:30 - 4:30 pm
  • Feb. 9: Dr. George Njoroge - Rector of the Kigali Institute of Education "Rwandan Women: Our History is Our Strength" Library 101, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
  • Feb. 18: "Center Stage: Music by Women Composers" Performance Hall 7:30 pm
  • Mar. 3: Darrin Brooks and Nancy Hills "Big Hair, Big Chair: The Power and Influence of Women in the 18th Century" Library 101, 3:30 - 5:00 pm
  • Mar. 14: "Early Career and Lifetime Achievement Awards" TSC Ballroom 6:00 pm
  • Mar. 22: Dr. Susan Madsen "Women and Education in Utah" TSC Auditorium 3:30 - 5:00 pm
  • Apr. 5: "Women’s History Month Student Showcase" TSC Ballroom 6:00 pm
  • Apr. 12: Spring Social Luncheon, Alumni Center 12:00 - 1:30 pm
  • Apr. 21: P&T Celebration, The Caine House 4:30 - 6:30 pm
  • Happy Hours
    January 28, 2011 5:00-6:30 pm Logan Golf and Country Club
    February 25, 2011 5:00-6:30 pm Logan Golf and Country Club
    April 29, 2011 5:00-6:30 pm Logan Golf and Country Club