Ceremony honors outstanding women at MU

Six outstanding MU women were given awards Thursday in Memorial Union.

By Angela Case

Published March 13, 2009

A ceremony was held Thursday to honor six of MU's most outstanding women.

The Tribute to MU Women ceremony was presented by the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women and the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative.

It was created as "a tribute to the MU women who have worked to help create an environment of equity, fairness and justice for all women on the MU campus, and have helped promote the advancement of women through education, advocacy, support and activism," the event program stated.

Wendy Sims is the chairwoman of the Tribute to Women committee, a subcommittee of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women. She said the honorees were chosen by the committee based on nominations of students and faculty members campus-wide.

"The committee reviews the nominations based on the listed criteria," she said. "There are many admirable women on campus, but this particular event is designed to honor people who've really gone over and above to benefit women."

Sarah Devlin, a third-year law student who was the only student recipient of this year's award, said the honor means a lot to her.

"It means that all of the work of not only myself, but of all the women on this campus to promote diversity and equality is being recognized," Devlin said.

Devlin was recognized in part for her work as president of the Women's Law Association, as well as her efforts in bringing influential speakers to campus, like Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Devlin said her work in this area is one of her proudest accomplishments.

"I'm most proud of the speakers and networking experiences that I've been able to bring to the women of the law school, with Missouri Supreme Court judges, the secretary of state and a number of different practitioners throughout the state," she said.

Devlin has also been at the forefront of several fundraisers and programs that assist women who are victims and survivors of domestic violence, School of Law Assistant Dean Tracy Gonzalez said.

Along with Devlin, five faculty members were also honored at the ceremony.

Honoree and professor Elizabeth Garrett said one of her proudest accomplishments occurred when she, as a medical student, became the first woman to sign up for a weight training course.

Her action paved the way for other female students to be welcomed into a course they were essentially excluded from previously.

"I feel very proud of the achievements of women here at this university," she said. "Any accomplishment of mine pales in comparison to what women had to go through in the past."

Among the other nominees was Intercollegiate Athletics Associate Director of Sarah Reesman, who could not attend the ceremony because she was working with the men and women's basketball teams at the Big 12 Championship.

Professor Kathleen Trauth was honored for her work supporting women in the School of Engineering.

The final award was given to Barbara Townsend, who received a standing ovation from the attendees for her Distinguished Service Award.

Townsend's nomination letters described her as a "model for many women" who "provided much-needed leadership and perspective."

Many of the women honored felt humbled by their recognition.

"Right now I have chills all over my body," said honoree Renata Maiorino, who was recognized for her work in creating and teaching a self-defense for women class. "It's an incredible acclimation of the fact that I'm doing something for women on this campus."