Two members of the College of Letters & Science faculty and one L&S student will be honored among the seven winners of the 2012-13 University of Wisconsin-Madison Outstanding Women of Color awards.
Karma Chávez, assistant professor of communication arts & Chican@ and Latin@ studies; Roberta Hill, professor of English & American Indian studies; and Saemyi Park, doctoral candidate in political science, will be honored at a reception on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 5-7 p.m. in the Lowell Center Dining Room.
The Outstanding Women of Color Awards were created in 2007 to recognize students, faculty and staff for their service to the community in one or more of the following areas: social justice; advocacy for disadvantaged and/or marginalized populations; scholarly research, writing, speaking and/or teaching about race, ethnicity and indigeneity in American society; and community building to create an inclusive and respectful environment on- or off-campus.
The selection committee has also nominated Hill to receive the UW System 18th Annual Outstanding Women of Color in Education Awards.
This year’s seven honorees are the largest cohort to be selected to date, says Ruby Paredes, interim associate vice provost and assistant vice chancellor for diversity and climate. The growing campus-wide awareness of the annual honor is gratifying, she adds.
“People are beginning to recognize how important the awards are and actively looking for women who deserve to be recognized for their outstanding work, tremendous leadership and personal contributions to our society. That’s the purpose of the award,” Paredes says. "But they are not being honored simply for being women of color. Every candidate selected for the title 'Outstanding Woman of Color in Education’ truly merits the designation among all women in education."
To see the full list of honorees, read this story from University Communications.