PULLMAN, Wash. – Eight women will be honored at the Washington State University 2016 Woman of the Year and Women of Distinction Recognition Luncheon and Symposium. Held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, in the CUB ballroom, the theme will be “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.”
Keynote speaker will be Nan Stoops, who has worked as an anti-violence advocate, trainer and organizer for more than 35 years. Tickets cost $15 and are available online at http://bit.ly/1TTm5wu.
In conjunction with the lunch, a free screening of the film, “From Fear to Freedom: Ending Violence against Women,” followed by a panel discussion, will begin at 3 p.m. in the CUB auditorium.
Award-winners
Anna King will be recognized as the 2016 Woman of Year. She is a Northwest Public Radio journalist, Northwest News Network Richland, Wash., bureau chief and 2000 graduate of WSU.
She will be recognized for her active engagement with the communities she serves, which prompted one nominator to describe her as “a notable example of a genius community weaver.” Her recent news coverage includes issues related to Native American tribes, rural agricultural communities and women connected with the Hanford nuclear reservation.
Dorothy Wiley, a lawyer and founding member of Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse (ATVP), will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for leadership and commitment to ATVP, which nominators described as contributing to a significant positive difference in women’s lives.
Six other women will be honored as Women of Distinction:
Dominique Norman, WSU undergraduate student
Katherine Bittinger, WSU graduate student
Melynda Huskey, interim vice president of student affairs and dean of students
Candis Claiborn, dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Faith Lutze, professor in criminal justice and criminology
Kimberly Garland Campbell, U.S. Department of Agriculture ARS research geneticist
About the speaker
Stoops is executive director of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV), a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of community-based domestic violence advocacy agencies in Washington. She is a founding member of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence and was the 2010 recipient of the Seattle Girls School Grace Hopper Award for Exemplary Leadership. Under her leadership, WSCADV is recognized as a national leader for innovative approaches to ending violence against women and girls.
Luncheon and symposium hosts are the WSU Women’s Resource Center and President’s Commission on the Status of Women with support from the Coalition of Women Students. The afternoon panel discussion is co-hosted in conjunction with the Associated Students of WSU.
Contacts:
Heidi Stanton Schnebly, WSU GIESORC director, 509-335-8841, hstanton@wsu.edu
Holly Campbell, WSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women, 509-335-7231, hmcampbell@wsu.edu
