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Speeches

Women in Leadership Conference 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Good afternoon. My name is Betsy Casteen. I have the great privilege of welcoming you to the second Women's Leadership Conference held here at the University of Virginia. Today and tomorrow we will examine “Leading by Example," which to my mind is the most important aspect of leadership.

First, I would like to encourage you to participate in our Leadership Mosaic opportunity at the registration table. Through this program, we intend to honor those women, living or deceased, who have inspired you, and led you by their example. We encourage you to share those persons' names and stories about how they inspired you, or taught you something important.

Read More.

To start the ball rolling, I would like to mention two women who have inspired me over the years. One of them, Mary Lyons, much like Mr. Jefferson in the Commonwealth of Virginia, roamed the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1834, seeking support for higher education. Unlike Mr. Jefferson, her quest was higher education for women. Ms. Lyons was a schoolteacher from Massachusetts, an American pioneer, a remarkable woman who founded a model of higher education for women in Mount Holyoke College.

A little more then a decade after Mr. Jefferson laid the cornerstone for the University of Virginia, Mary Lyons worked tirelessly to see that women be educated at advanced levels, just as men were being educated here at the University. During one of her journeys, a friend suggested to her that she name her school in western Massachusetts, Pangynaskean Seminary…the Greek word is the denotes the “power of women" and inspired Mary Lyons and her intellectual heiresses to cultivate the total experience of women in this world.

The other woman I want to tell you about was a colleague of mine who was just recently written up in the New York Times Jobs section. She too was inspired by this Greek word “Pangynasken". Dianne Fuller Doherty is a graduate of Ms. Lyon's Mount Holyoke College. She entered college in 1955 and recently attended her 50th reunion, aware that during her lifetime she has helped fulfill the mission of the founder of her college. She never followed conventions in making most of her life transitions, but instead approached and embraced new opportunities when personal circumstances were right for for change.

After becoming a wife and mother of four daughters, in 1979, 20 years after graduating from college, she enrolled in courses that would soon lead to a Masters of Business Administration degree. In the 80's and 90's, she ran her own marketing company. For the past 17 years she has worked to create jobs in western Massachusetts, advising small businesses and entrepreneurs for the University of Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network. I worked with her on these business incubators, labs in which we almost literally“hatched" new enterprises. Dianne began this work in her mid-50's and now in her early 70's has no plans to retire. She says, “My feeling is that as long as I am doing something of value, why not continue to do it?"

She credits her belief in Pangynaskean with her decision to go to graduate school, and with what keeps her going now. In her work, Dianne has a number of goals. In addition to gaining personal fulfillment, she wants to inspire her children and grandchildren. Additionally, she says, “I also want to continue learning—it is a big part of who I am."

At this conference we will see, hear, and talk to women like Mary Lyon and Dianne Doherty, who have made an impact on the world. We have incredible speakers and a distinguished audience. I am looking forward to speaking with you all about leadership and also about the ways in which you manage change in your lives.

For, life is change. All of us, both men and women go through periods of transition, in our personal and professional lives. Generally, I find that women are more adept at change! As my mother said, “We are better at shifting gears".

The outcome of a transition can be affected by how we approach it. Change can be exhausting or exhilarating. We hope that the knowledge you gain here will help you embrace each transition that you come to in your life. For every change, there is also an opportunity. In order to master change, we need to be persistent and flexible. We need to be innovative, because there are no road maps.

The main thing to keep in mind is that the history of women in the workplace reveals a desire and drive for continuous learning and development, whether in a formal classroom or on the job training. Women have the interest, openness and drive to take on new responsibilities, positions and opportunities in a vast and diverse job market. It has been my experience that women enjoy challenges and change because of ongoing personal and professional development, and the chance this gives us to make a difference in the world.

All of these qualities have enabled women to be successful leaders. And the success of one generation feeds the success of the next one. At the University, the first 450 female non-nursing students were admitted as full-fledged undergraduates in 1970. Over the years, there has been an amazing transformation of the University's student body. Since 1990, we have seen the undergraduate class go from 50% women to 56% percent women in 2010. (According to a report from the American council on Education, this trend has been the case at most American colleges in the past 10 years.)

Not only has the University admitted women, we have created programs that enhance their experience here, and build their leadership potential. We now have the UVa Women's Center. The Curry School and the Women's Center collaborated to create the Young Women Leaders Program. There is a Women's Leadership Development Program. The School of Medicine sponsors a Committee on Women. And of course the U.Va. Women's Club is still going strong.

Just as change is central in the life of a person, it is also vital to any institution. During this past year, the year before John steps down from the presidency, we have had the privilege to celebrate changes at the University on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the presidency at UVa and of the president's house on Carr's Hill.

One hundred years ago there was a great change in the leadership of Uva. In the first decade of the 1900's, as the Academical Village evolved into an “academical city" and the University became more complex, Jefferson's “loose" arrangement of having a chairman of the faculty function as the administrative head began to malfunction. The growth of the university post-Civil War and the burning of the Rotunda and the annex spurred the need for more a efficient and effective leadership model.

As rector, Mr. Jefferson resisted every effort to ever have a president of the University, and after his death the local practice of continuing Mr. Jefferson's precedents made it the transition to presidential leadership difficult. However in 1904, the Board of Visitors felt that they had to make a change, and appointed the first President of the University of Virginia.

Few people know that President Aldermen was a proponent of educating women. He received a request from the Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs to establish a coordinated college for women near the university. Alderman expressed his support for the idea but was met with heavy resistance from alumni and students fearful that the coordination would lead to gender integration on Grounds. Legislation to create the coordinated college for women was defeated in 1916.

In 1918, even though the General Assembly opposed the idea, the University began admitting women to the graduate and professional programs. We have had only seven presidents during these past 100 years, so it was exciting to find out that our 8th president will be a woman.

Considering that it has not been that long since women were granted admission to the undergraduate school, it has not taken long for a woman to be at our helm. And although the University's alumni have had the reputation of being “good old boys" and “Virginia Gentlemen," we have made more progress in the advancement of women here than at many other universities.

There are 62 public and private research universities in the United States and Canada that are members of the American Association of Universities. Our University will be only the 16th institution in this group to have a women president.

It took Harvard 371 years to hire a woman president. Its 28th president was a woman, appointed in 2007. It took Princeton 264 years, to appoint a woman to be their 19th president. Brown University's presidency existed for 263 years before they hired their first woman president in 2001! The 100 years it took U.Va. To hire a woman president looks impressive in comparison.

President-elect Sullivan has had a long and successful career in higher education; she is married to a scholar of law and has raised two sons. In July she will be at the reins of our beloved University. It is an exciting transition for her and an exciting transition for this University. This is an important time to observe, engage, and support this transitional moment in history.

During this latest transition at the University, I hope you will stay involved, share your thoughts and opinions, and continue to come back to Grounds to share your experiences. Women like you have been critical to the advancement of this university. In the coming years, I expect women will be even more important to keeping Mr. Jefferson's university on the cutting edge of innovation and positive change.

Now I have the pleasure of introducing “Val" Ackerman, our conference chair.

Val graduated from the University in 1981. She was a starter on the women's basketball team for four years and twice named an Academic All-American. She played professional basketball in France for a year before earning a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1985.

She served as the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (1996–05) and is past president of USA Basketball (2005–08). Last fall, she received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

She has held leadership roles with the March of Dimes, Girls Incorporated, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the International Basketball Federation, and the Basketball Hall of Fame. At U.Va. she serves on the Campaign Executive Committee, as chair of the Women in Leadership & Philanthropy's advisory committee, as chair of the Women in Leadership Conference committee, and was recently named to the board of the Virginia Athletics Foundation.

She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the graduate sports management program at Columbia University. She is married and has two daughters. Please help me welcome Val back to the University.

Women in Leadership Conference 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

How good it is to see you all today. Before we get to the business of the day, please let me introduce myself: My name is Betsy Casteen. Born and raised in Boston, I attended Boston University, where I gained an undergraduate degree in art history. Then, as a graduate student, I studied at Boston Architectural College. Later, returning to BU, I received my second degree, a master's in urban planning.

I worked in the cities of Cambridge, Boston and New York, and then settled in western Massachusetts, where I did economic development for the Commonwealth. In the little town in which I lived, I also served as a substitute teacher, as the chairman of the town's planning Board, and as a bank board member. It was there in western Massachusetts that I raised two daughters to maturity, and was widowed.

Read More.

So, how after all those years in New England, did I come to U.Va. and Charlottesville? Well, much to my daughters' embarrassment, after they became students at the University, I followed them to Charlottesville, when I married John Casteen about five and a half years ago.

Now I run the large and very busy household that is the University's official president's residence. Each year, close to 200 events occur beneath our bedroom. And unless I am ill or out of town, I plan and attend almost every single one. Additionally, I travel frequently, speak to alumni groups and students and represent the University in many ways.

I am fortunate and grateful for the help of the hard-working Carr's Hill staff, who cater to the many, many students, faculty members and alumni who visit the house every year. Not only have they been wonderful helpmates in the work I do at Carr's Hill, they have always been very kind to our children, and understanding about our various pets.

Now that you know me, I look forward to getting to know you. Along with my co-chair of this event, Suzan Garson, I welcome attendees of the inaugural Women in Leadership Conference and all those from the University of Virginia and the Charlottesville communities who are also joining us today.

For the next two days, we will have the opportunity to share how women from diverse backgrounds are making an impact in both their professional and personal lives. Thank you all for coming. We have over 132 registrants made up of alums, students, faculty, parents and friends. Alumnae have come from as far away as California to join us and to provide the substance of today's and tomorrow's programs. Susan and I will be here during the entire conference. Please feel free to ask questions of us or to just come by and say hello.

I want also to thank our featured speakers, who demonstrate the highest level of service through their professional and personal pursuits. A warm UVA welcome to Shelia Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, who will speak to us in a few minutes, and to Elizabeth Smith, President of Avon, who will speak to conference registrants tonight.

Why do we gather? We come to inspire one another; we come to share; we come here to reflect; we come to teach; but most importantly, we come to learn. Women are more likely than men to share their life experiences, expectations, successes and their failures. We have learned to celebrate one another, to learn how to overcome adversity, how to handle success, and how to take on new opportunities for leadership in our work and in our communities.

"Women's leadership" is a verbal novelty in our culture, but that is what we are here to discuss. Perhaps you have been to similar gatherings before. What makes this conference unique is its setting. Personally, I do not believe there is a better place to learn women and leadership than at the University of Virginia where women have made tremendous intellectual and social progress.

Thomas Jefferson, although a great leader, did not like to use titles. He thought titles were "artificial distinctions among men". What mattered in Mr. Jefferson's vision for America and for his university were citizens' contributions to the public good and their capacity to use knowledge and exercise their naturally endowed civil rights. He objected to conformity and deeply believed that knowledge is power. So much did he value education that he wrote his own epitaph without mentioning that he was President of the United States, instead noting that he was the "Father of the University of Virginia".

No matter how great his ambitions were for the University, I think Mr. Jefferson might be amazed to see its academic situation in 2008. No doubt, he would be pleased to see that we are truly educating citizens of the world. And I hope he would be satisfied to see how many women enroll in and teach classes on Grounds nowadays.

You will recall that in 1825 the University's doors were first opened to 100 students-all men. One hundred and forty years later, in 1970, women were admitted to College of Arts and Sciences-under a quota system. These women were greeted by a cohort of generally disgruntled male students. After a few years of co-education, things changed around here. Gone was the "road trip" mentality. Gone were "gentlemen's C's". The old guard fretted, and women breezed in and began succeeding beyond all expectations.

Today, women make up 57 percent of our incoming students, because they are smarter, they are better prepared, and in high school they sign up for difficult courses. The University's female students are so good that 60 percent of this year's Jefferson scholars are women.

Our graduates both female and male do well out in the world. They have ascended to new levels of power and prominence; they are dedicated, disciplined and show up for work on time. Best of all, they are the vanguard of the University's aspiration to create "citizens of the world".

Our students spend hours working in the community, and their communal work matures them in ways that the classroom cannot do alone. Because of our students' dedication to public service, we produce more Peace Corps volunteers than any other university our size.

And because of our honor system, companies like to hire our graduates. Employers know that U.Va. alumni will be honest and hard-working. In addition to being trustworthy and diligent, I also like to advise students that they must be good to one another, be supportive, and be mentors to younger students. And they are. They really are.

We post-graduate women also can mentor each other. Exposure to the women at this conference, women who lead and work and give back, will inspire all of us to do the same. You will notice that the women gathered here this weekend, have taken different paths to success. They continue to adjust their plans as goals change and opportunities arise. By observing each other, we can learn about the many different ways women achieve influence, and in achieving influence, change the world for the better.

Women's Leadership Development Program Spring Kick-off

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Thank you for inviting me to speak here tonight to help you all kick off this spring's Women's Leadership Development program.

To grasp fully how significant it is that you all are sitting in this beautiful building, we need to go back in time a bit.

It was about 230 years ago that Mr. Jefferson dreamed of this place. In 1779, he submitted a "Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge" to the General Assembly. The bill outlines a system of public education in the commonwealth that, at the university level, would educate the best students "without regard to wealth, birth or other accidental condition or circumstance." Unfortunately, the bill failed. However, Mr. Jefferson continued to work to build public education in Virginia.

Read More.

In 1817, construction of Central College began. The cornerstone for the Central College building, which eventually became Pavilion VII of the University of Virginia, was laid on October 6 with President James Monroe officiating.

In 1825, U.Va. opened its doors to male students, who by year's end numbered more than 100. Over the years, although some women were enrolled in the University's nursing and education schools and in certain graduate programs, it was not until 1970, 145 years after the University opened for classes, when women were admitted to the University's College of Arts and Sciences under a quota system. Previously, only wives and daughters of faculty members were allowed to attend the College of Arts and Sciences. A total of 450 women were admitted.

You may be interested in knowing what else was going on in the world as women first enrolled in the College in 1970:

  1. The Nation celebrated its first Earth Day.
  2. Nixon supports voting rights for 18-year-olds. The 26th amendment was ratified in 1971.
  3. Cigarette ads were banned from TV.
  4. National Guard opened fire on and killed 4 on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio.
  5. Apollo 13 returned to Earth after a harrowing mission during which they repaired their ship with duct tape after an oxygen tank exploded.
  6. The 12th and final Beatles Album, Let It Be, was released shortly after the group announced their break-up.
  7. Construction of the New York World Trade Center was completed.
  8. Mary Tyler Moore show, a sit-com about the life of a single, working woman in the typically male dominated world of television news production, debuted.
  9. The Senate curbs de facto segregation.

The nation was changing as was the University.

Nineteen-seventy-two was the first class of women applicants in the University's history to be admitted without a quota. Their applications were considered on the same basis as male students. Subsequently, in 1972 forty-five percent of incoming first-year students were female.

Using enrollment figures from other co-ed universities in Virginia, the University predicted the number of undergraduate women would stabilize at approximately 35 percent by 1980.The numbers of women desiring admission, however, greatly exceeded the University's initial 35 percent projection. By 1974, the entering class was 42 percent female, according to an article in The Daily Progress. By 1980, admissions had equalized to 50 percent men and 50 percent women. More recently, women have become the majority of our students. In fall 2007, our enrollment stood at 13,353 undergraduate students, and 7,014 graduate and professional students. Sixty-eight per cent are from Virginia, and 32%, from elsewhere. They come from every state in the Union and from 100 different countries. Perhaps most notable is the fact that 54% of these students are women.

As they prepare for their futures, students also build identities. One of my favorite quotes from the University's founder is still so relevant and important for you all to hear: “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."

Getting involved in activities makes U.Va. seem to be a much smaller institution. The organizations have so much to offer, and often they have a wonderful social side to them. Students often say they have met some of their best friends in these groups. If you go to the Student Activities Website there are 600 active listings offering such a wide variety of organizations. Some of these are:

  1. Club Sports
  2. Music
  3. Religion
  4. Politics
  5. Cultural Organizations
  6. Hobbies
  7. Service Organizations.

The members of these groups share common interests, spend time with one another and build relationships.

Opportunities at U.Va. extend beyond what people traditionally think of as ‘service.' Not only can you volunteer in local schools, at the U.Va. Hospital, or with local community groups, but you can also get involved with about 300 other types of service. You may find yourself bringing different speakers or cultural opportunities to Grounds, working with sexual assault education or prevention, giving tours, teaching disabled children how to ski, tutoring local children in reading, mentoring middle school kids at the Charlottesville Music Resource Center or working with new U.Va. students as they adjust to University life. There's a way for everyone to give back to the community; all you have to do is find what you are passionate about. In doing what you love you become more fully self-actualized. Finding yourself, you will also find your capacity for leadership.

Here are guidelines for leadership that I have found useful over the years:

  1. Use YOUR talents as a positive force for change
  2. Be ready to be a life long learner, for you will never be done learning. You will learn from everyone and everything you encounter.
  3. Leaders have vision to set long term goals and short term priorities, the ability to create the energy and vision where others can flourish.
  4. Without trust, a leader will not have followers. Trust must be earned. There should be consistency in your beliefs, words and actions.
  5. Leaders set the example. You should have the qualities that you expect from others.
  6. No two leaders will embody the same leadership attributes, but some core qualities that you should possess are: enthusiasm, energy, calm in a crisis, warmth AND toughness, and above all, fairness.
  7. Remember there is a clear contrast between leadership and management. You can be appointed to be a manager; leadership, in contrast, is earned in the eyes of your followers.

One last bit of advice: Eliminate your fear of failure, which is sometimes the greatest obstacle for young, bright, people. Remember this bit of advice from the famous actress and leader in her field, Mary Pickford: “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."

Since 1970, the University has fostered leadership in many, many women. Here are a few notable examples:

  • Catherine Neale (College 2006). A history and American Studies major, she was the student member of the Board of Visitors last year. She lived on the Lawn, and wrote her honors thesis about slavery at the University of Virginia. She was a member of the College Foundation, worked on Student Council, the University Guide Service and the Undergraduate Research Network. Catherine won a Truman scholarship, which honors students for their leadership and commitment to public service. In her last year at U.Va., inspired by a course about the effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, she is now active with community rebuilding and sustainable development in the city.
  • Brooke Yamakoshi (Engineering 2006; currently pursuing a master's degree in the Engineering School) Brooke was Vice President of the Class of 2006, and a member of the Raven Society. She is active in running a clean-water project in the African country of Cameroon. This is part of the “Engineering in Context" capstone program in the Engineering School. In her fourth year and with another student, she designed a water filter for household use and a way to have their use accepted by the community. The filters were well received by the region, and this year, Brooke is implementing a community-wide marketing campaign to stimulate demand for the filter system and to educate others about the filters and the inextricable links between water and health.
  • Amanda Kristina Bell (A&S 2008, Studies in Women & Gender) is the president of a new service organization called United Sisters, a new organization that works with African-American women to prepare them to take on leadership roles in the Black community. United Sisters works through education, discussion, service and an emphasis on self-esteem among women. An active presence on the University Grounds as well as in Charlottesville, United Sisters service projects include creating Valentine cards and Easter baskets for women at the Shelter for Help in Emergency; holding self-defense classes; and working with local high school students.
  • Anne Reynolds Holt (A&S 2006) was known for her mission to keep opera alive in the hearts of her fellow students. A coloratura soprano, she led an effort to start a student organization, Opera Viva, the first student opera company at U.Va., and directed its inaugural production, Bizet's Carmen. As a distinguished Interdisciplinary Studies major, she combined music, history, English and drama to create a new area of study that focuses on play and opera production. Holt was one of 18 students chosen nationally in 2005 to receive a Beinecke Scholarship, which provides $32,000 for graduate education. Currently, she is earning an M.F.A. in theater directing to develop her performance skills.

I am also honored to be able to mention alumnae, who have distinguished careers. They each followed their own passions with energy, enthusiasm, and perseverance, and were able to achieve success and obtain leadership roles in their lives.

In media:

  • Katie Couric (A&S 1979), anchor and managing editor, CBS evening news. Co-anchor of NBC's today show for 15 years. After losing her husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998, Couric embraced the fight against the country's number two cancer killer by supporting new medical research in colorectal cancer and educational programs encouraging the prevention and early detection of the disease through proper screening. Following Couric's on-air colonoscopy in 2000, a scientifically documented 20 percent increase was noted in the number of colonoscopies performed across the country. Researchers at the University of Michigan dubbed this "The Couric Effect." She is raising two daughters as a single parent.
  • Sarah James (A.S. 1993), correspondent for Dateline NBC. James has also co-written the book, The Best of Friends: Two Women, Two Continents and One Enduring Friendship, to be released in June 2007. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia. James was born in Durham, N.C. and raised in Richmond, Virgina. She is married to Andrew Butcher, and they have two daughters.
  • Tina Fey (A&S 1992), head writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live; actress, writer. In 1999, Fey was named writing supervisor, making her the first female head writer in the show's 25-year history. She is married and has a daughter.

In medicine and science:

  • Dr. Vivian Pinn (MED 1967), Inaugural Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Pinn notes, “We have, I think, played a major role in helping to define women's health as beyond the reproductive system, which traditionally was how women's health was viewed. So I've shifted from a desire to be a pediatrician, to becoming a pathologist, and a renal pathologist, and a transplant pathologist, to being in administrative pathology, overseeing a program and a training program in the department, to then becoming someone in government who is into establishing policy, carrying out policy. Mentorship is important to me, and my two points to young people are: Overcome barriers and exceed expectations of those who may not expect much of you; and have a mentor, and be a mentor."
  • Kathy Thornton (M.S. 1977; PhD 1979) had an 11-year (1985-1996) career as an astronaut for NASA, in which she participated in 383 orbits of the earth, spending a total of 41 days in space. She logged well over 10 million miles in space spread out over 4 missions. She is now professor in U.Va.'s Engineering School, and is married and has two step-sons and three daughters.

In Business:

  • Christine Gustafson (A&S 1982) is a Senior Vice President for UBS Financial in Phoenix, Arizona, after having worked for 13 years at Morgan Stanley. She was a founding board member of the College Foundation at U.Va., a member of the University's Campaign Executive Committee, and a board member of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company. Christine will be receiving the Distinguished Alumnae award from the University's Women's Center this spring.
  • Rebecca Rimel (Nursing 1973) became the first nurse to join the University's Medical School faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery. She is currently the President and CEO of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which dispensed more then 210 million in grants last year to improve public policy, to inform the public and to stimulate civic life.
  • Pattie Sellers (CLAS 82) is Senior Editor for Fortune magazine, and writes the magazine's annual article “50 Most Powerful Women in Business" list. Patti speaks regularly on the subject of Women and Leadership.

In Education:

  • Jill Tietjen (CEAS 1976) took her passion for math and science and started the Women in Engineering Program. She has also co-chaired CAMP CEO, an event that partners professional women with girls for a career-awakening weekend.
  • Marcia Invernizzi (SED Ph.D. 1985) is Director of the McGuffey reading Center, the oldest University reading center in the country. She is the creator of PALS—a Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening system used nationwide. She created “Words Their Way," a word study program for phonics, spelling and word study for children. She also created Book Buddies, providing guidelines for community volunteers working with emergent to early readers. The center helps young children learn to read while teaching graduate students how to teach children to read.

In Sports:

  • Val Ackerman (A&S 1981) is co-founder of the Women's National Basketball Association, and President of USA Basketball. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of USA Basketball, the Executive Committee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes. Ackerman graduated from the University of Virginia in 1981, where she was a four-year starter for the women's basketball team and a two-time Academic All-American. She played professional basketball in France before graduating from UCLA School of Law in 1985, and she worked for two years as an associate at the New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. She and her husband, Charlie Rappaport, have two daughters, Emily and Sally.
  • Dawn Staley (A&S 1992) is 3-time all American basketball player for the Cavaliers, as well as National Player of the Year, ACC Player and Rookie of the Year, and 1992 Olympic Gold medallist. Dawn was chosen to carry the American flag at the 2004 Olympic Games, and is currently head women's basketball coach at Temple University.

These University women are just a few of our alumnae who are making a difference in the world. They all had mentors in their lives; they all had support and encouragement from teachers and colleagues. That is what you can do for each other: Support one another's goals, encourage each other's dreams, accept and allow for open dialogue about new ideas, and have the courage to learn from your mistakes and your failures. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Your leadership experiences and opportunities will evolve over time. At various times in your lives, you may find yourselves in huge corporations, in small firms, or in volunteer organizations. There may be a time when you are caretakers of your children, and your leadership will be at their schools and in the PTO. There will be doors opening throughout your lives and groups that will need your help. The qualities and skills that you develop with this organization, you will take with you throughout your lives. My generation of women leaders has a succession plan in mind—and it is you!

Distinguished Alumna Award Dinner

Friday, April 22, 2005

Colonnade Club, 6:30 – 9:00 PM

It is a pleasure to welcome you to Colonnade Club to honor this year's distinguished University of Virginia alumna.

All of us here know how important women are at the University of Virginia. Still, it is worth recalling how powerful our influence has been on the University's development.

In its first 150 years, U.Va.'s student body was all male, all white, and made up mostly of well-to-do students from Southern states. Until the second half of the twentieth century, its reputation, based very much on the profile of its students, was that of a respectable, regional school that prepared young men for comfortable lives.

Read More.

With the diversification of its student body in the second half of the twentieth century, U.Va.'s reputation began to soar, so much so that in 2005 it ranks as the number two public university in the country. This ranking is based not only on the prestige of our faculty, and the public's regard for their work, but just as importantly, the University's reputation originates in the quality of our students' intellects and their characters.

The ambitions of our student body are various, but like all humankind University, students aspire to positive contributions in both love and work. They aim to achieve fulfilling private lives of family, faith, and friends; and they seek and ultimately achieve public lives in business, politics, law, medicine, education, journalism, and the arts.

Women play a big part in this academic success story. Today, 54 percent of the University's undergraduates are women. In fact, since co-education began at the University in 1970, more women have received U.Va. degrees than men. Amazingly, our statisticians are figuring that by 2020, women will outnumber men among the total number of U.Va. alumni.

These are astonishing figures given the fact that women have been admitted as students for only thirty-five of the University's 186 years. We can thank our women students for helping to raise our sights to a much wider vision for public higher education, a vision that truly embraces the humane and egalitarian philosophy on which this institution was founded.

In widening access to the University, women have also helped to raise the standards by which the scholarship of both students and faculty is judged. I think I can safely say that a gentleman's C has not been a widely accepted academic goal on Grounds for many, while members of the faculty aspire to advance knowledge in significant ways across all fields of study in both arts and sciences.

Also, I want to mention the important role that women faculty members have played in the lives of our women students. I am happy to note that over these thirty-five years, the number of women on the University's faculty have increased to a degree that enables our students to have female role models and mentors. All who care about equal opportunity at the University are grateful to these academic women for their scholarship, teaching, and service to the University.

Serving all of the University's women-students, alumnae, faculty, and staff-for the past sixteen years, the Women's Center has run leadership and mentoring programs, provided counseling and support services, and has sponsored activities primarily for women, but often of interest to others within and beyond the University.

Much of the Women's Center work is done by volunteers and part-time staff. We thank you for all that you do. And I am also grateful to the Women's Center for sponsoring this annual award, and for the many ways it serves the University and especially our women constituents.

I am now pleased to introduce Jeanette Lancaster, who will introduce this year's winner of the Distinguished Alumna Award.

Nationally recognized as an authority on community and public health nursing, Jeanette Lancaster is the Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor of Nursing, and Dean of the School of Nursing. Since coming to the University in 1989, Jeanette has steadily advanced the national standing of our School of Nursing.

There is much that distinguishes Jeanette Lancaster as a leader in the health field and as a University administrator. Her professional distinction is expressed in two local facts: that she is the first dean of nursing to live on the Lawn-in Pavilion II, and that to date, she is the longest tenured of all the deans at the University.

Of course, her professional credentials are impeccable. Jeanette serves as President-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, edits the interdisciplinary journal Family and Community Health Nursing, has published eight textbooks and more than forty-five articles in collaboration with colleagues, and has spoken at nearly 200 conventions and workshops across the United States and around the world.

Her accomplishments in the nursing field have been recognized widely by her peers. The New York University Division of Nursing recently awarded her their Maes-Macinnes Award, and just days ago, the Beta Kappa Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing honored her with the Distinguished Nurse Award for 2005.

Not only is Jeanette Lancaster a leader in her profession, she is also actively involved in health practice. Her roots in the local and global communities run deep. She initiated faculty partnerships and exchanges with scholars from China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, and developed many opportunities for nursing students to study abroad, including programs in Australia and the United Kingdom. With her support, in 1999, U.Va. students founded Nursing Students Without Borders, a group whose projects have provided service to Virginia migrant workers and to people in El Salvador, Russia, and South Africa.

Throughout her distinguished career, Jeanette has worked tirelessly to help us recognize the strengths of University of Virginia women, and to help their ideas to be heard and implemented. Please join me in welcoming and expressing thanks to our Dean of Nursing, Jeanette Lancaster.

Virginia Film Festival

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Carr's Hill 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Welcome to the 18th annual Virginia Film Festival.

The festival began with encouragement of then Commonwealth Governor Gerald Baliles, who believed that the University could use its scholarly resources to strengthen the study of media. We are especially pleased, given the University's campaign for the arts, that the film festival has become such an artistic fixture for U.Va., Charlottesville, and the broader community. For the next four days, we will enjoy an event that combines scholarship with entertainment.

This year's theme, In/Vision, explores how movies promote the rule of law and challenge its sometimes flawed practice. While for years scholars have explored these issues in U.Va.'s law school and social science departments, with the film festival we examine questions of legal practice through film art. We expect that through the medium of film, with its engaging visual and auditory channels and its humane appeals we will gain new emotional and intellectual perspectives on how we human beings govern our wilder impulses with legal restraints.

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In this year's festival, we are presenting over seventy films and more than 100 guest speakers, including twenty faculty members. Two faculty members will premiere new films: Kevin Everson of the Art department, presents Cinnamon; and Bruce Johnson of the Robertson Media Center, presents Ivy. Additionally, the festival will feature live music performances by Jon Langford and Sally Timms. For Harold Lloyd's silent film, The Kid Brother Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton will provide live piano music; and, South African singer Vushi Mahlasela is featured in Amandla! and will speak and sing directly after the film.

The University is most grateful to the many volunteers, sponsors and donors who make the Festival a success each year. I also want to thank all of you, volunteers and staff, for your dedication and artistry in designing the film festival as an examination of a cultural theme in which thousands participate each year. As soon as the 18th festival is over, I know I and many, many others will immediately begin eagerly anticipating the 19th.