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When: 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24
Where: McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis
Contacts: Peg Loonquist, Office for University Women, (612) 625-6039
Bob San, University News Service, (612) 624-4082
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/22/2008) — The University of Minnesota Office for University Womenwill celebrate the contributions and achievements of outstanding female employees and scholars at an award banquet from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24 at the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis.
The event, “Celebrating University Women, will open with welcome speeches by OUW interim director Peg Lonnquist and School of Nursing associate professor Margaret Moss. The awards acknowledge and honor the accomplishments of outstanding University of Minnesota women faculty members. Selection criteria for the two annual awards include: exceptional scholarly or creativeachievements; impact of the scholar on her field; national and international scholarly reputation; distinctive service in undergraduate and graduate education; and contributions to the university, one's profession and wider community.
This year's award recipients are:
Distinguished Women Scholars Award in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: professor Ruth Mazo Karras.
Karras is a distinguished scholar of European medieval social history and has a reputation as one of the nation's most distinguished medievalists. At the university, Karras' impressive record of scholarship has been accompanied by generous mentoring of students and junior colleagues and substantial contributions in the realms of professional service and pubic pedagogy. Karras is currently serving as the department's director of graduate studies and led history's effort to reassess graduate education. Karras served as a consultant for the Minnesota Science Museum, the History Channel, and to K-12 history teachers. Nationally, Karras has held numerous prestigious fellowships, including an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Distinguished Women Scholars Award in Science & Engineering: professor Stephanie Valberg
Valberg is an internationally known researcher in exercise physiology, neuromuscular disorders in large animals, and equine genome mapping and nutrition. She has been a faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine since 1993. Valberg developed a premier, world-recognized research program in the area of the clinical, physiological and genetic basis of equine neuromuscular disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. In so doing, she has changed the way that the entire field of veterinary medicine thinks about a diverse set of very common diseases. Veterinarians around the world now evaluate and test horses with muscle disorders using the tools developed through Valberg's innovative research. An outstanding teacher as well, Valberg has been selected several times as Mentor of the Year as well as receiving a Teaching Inventive Award. In addition to her research and teaching activities, Valberg has been the director of the University of Minnesota Equine center since 2004. Under her leadership, a new 60,000 square foot world class, state-of-the-art facility opened in October 2007, providing outstandingservice beyond the University to the state equine community.
The Mullen-Spector-Truax Women's Leadership Award: professor Roberta Humphreys
This award honors Humphreys' outstanding contributions to women's leadership development from undergraduate students to faculty members. As associate dean for academic affairs in the Institute of Technology, Humphreys founded and directed a program which works to encourage, recruit, and retain women graduate students in the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering. The “IT Program for Women” places a female graduate student coordinator in each of the 12 different departments to organize networking activities for academic and personal support and recruitment. As a result of Humphreys' leadership, countless women graduate students in IT have learned from distinguished women scientists andengineers as speakers, attended Graduate Women in Science National meetings, attended lunches with faculty and alumnae of the School of Physics and Astronomy, participated in outreach activities with young girls and been provided with support and mentoring for their careers.
In addition, Humphreys' initiatives to raise the number of female undergraduates in IT, resulted in a 33% increase. An advocate for faculty women as well, Humphreys organized forums, workshops, social events, retreats, and an annual “Dinner with the Deans” to encourage professional and social interactions. At the department level, Humphreys worked to educate department heads about barriers to women's success. Her most recent efforts to implement lasting change at the university involve serving on the Women's Faculty Cabinet, and the coordination of a university-wide team to write a National Science Foundation ADVANCE proposal.
Civil Service and Bargaining Unit (CSBU) Staff Awards: Fran Stark and Ellyn Woo
Stark, an administrative assistant for the TRIO Program in the College of Education and Human Development, provides critical support for low-to-modest income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. Fran serves as advisor to the TRIO Student Leadership Board, and has taken students to the National Conference on Student Leadership. A graduate of the U of M and an employee for more than 20 years, she is also chair of the Social Concerns Committee for Student Services in CEHD and contributes to the greater Twin Cities community as vice chair of the board for Head Start. Stark is given this award for her continuing efforts to help improve the environment for CSBU women across campus. She has served as one of the co-chairs of the CSBU Women's Action Network for three years, and is currently working with the other committee members to strengthen the group's mission and focus for increased effectiveness in the coming years. In addition, Stark was actively involved with the “Take Your Daughters To Work” Program so that girls could visit the campus and have meaningful experiences.
Woo is a personnel document analyst in the graduate assistant office in the Office for Human Resources. Woo, a U alum, has been an employee of the university for more than 30 years. Woo is given this award for her sustained efforts to help improve the environment for CSBU women across campus. She has served as the co-chair of the CSBU Women's Action Network for three years, and is also working to re-imagine the mission and the focus of the network for the future. She is also chair for the University Women of Color (UWOC), which sponsors events to support and connect women of color across campus. This year, she assisted in selecting and presenting the UWOC Tapestry Award for promoting excellence in diversity on campus.
Sharon L. Doherty Awards: Rachel Raimist and Kelly Cannon
Raimist, a doctoral candidate in feminist studies, is recognized for her commitment as a volunteer on behalf of the department of gender, women and sexuality studies (GWSS), women on the university campus, and women and girls in the Twin Cities community. In addition to teaching undergraduate classes in GWSS, English, and African-American Studies, Raimist actively works with non-profit organizations in the Twin Cities. She is currently mentoring young spoken word artists and video makers through the Walker Teen Arts Council and the Walker artist residency, has co-led her daughter's Girl Scout troop and worked with South Minneapolis junior high and high school aged girls in “Articulating Our Voices Now”. She co-founded and curated “B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women and Hip-Hop,” a multidisciplinary festival that brings international, national and local girls and women in hip-hop together in Minneapolis for dialogues, performances and mentorship.
Cannon, a doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering (CSE), is recognized for her outstanding outreach to women and members of underrepresented groups. She has held leadership roles in numerous programs and activities, including helping to found the Digital Technology Center. She also founded the Kids Technology Day Camp, geared at exposing middle school age children to a collegiate atmosphere and encouraging young people -- girls in particular -- to become interested in pursuing computer science and technological careers. Since its creation in 2005, the camp has grown in attendance to 25 students and approximately 30 CSE graduate student volunteers. In this capacity, Cannon has not only been successful in inspirational volunteer outreach to women and youth, but also in urging her fellow graduate students to become more involved in outreach efforts. Cannon has also worked as a volunteer with and executive board member of the Tronix Team, an after-school electronics program for middle-school boys and girls. Each year, she speaks to the Minnesota High Tech Girls Society and prospective University of Minnesota Institute of Technology (IT) students.