With the start of Women’s History Month underway, SRU will honor the accomplishments and achievements of significant women in history through the President’s Commission on Women.
The commission not only recognizes significant women in history, but also aims to honor outstanding women on campus, including both faculty and students. The annual honor is “Women of Distinction” awards. It exists to recognize female students and faculty who stand out as role models and excel in fields of their choice. All awards are announced at the Women’s Commission Mentoring Dinner.
Everyone on Slippery Rock’s campus, no matter their gender, should take time to recognize the women honored at this event. Their contributions extend far beyond Women’s History Month, and they each deserve recognition on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis.
The commission is chaired by assistant to the provost Mary Hennessey and associate professor of criminology and security studies Youngyol Yim Schanz. The unfortunate thing about Women’s History Month being celebrated in March is that spring break happens right in the middle of the month, taking away an entire week of potential activities being hosted on campus and forcing the commission to shove the majority of its events into the last two weeks of March.
Among significant events happening on campus this month are Journey of Women at The Rock on March 22, The Girls Rock @ Stem event on March 27 and a panel discussion discussing the harm of human trafficking led by the Butler County Alliance on Children on March 28. Every single student on campus should take time to attend at least one of these events, not just to support women’s history, but to learn and become more educated about the continuing battle for women and gender equality.
Slippery Rock University is extremely lucky to have such women of distinction, and they can be found anywhere on campus. Most notably, you can find these women in the back of the CSIL in the Women’s Center, or at the head of the gender studies program. Some of these can even be found in The Rocket’s own staff, and the entire staff can assure you that it cannot operate without them.
