Women’s center sept release

Sept. 15, 2000

Contact: Charlotte Crystal

(804) 924-6858

ccrystal@virginia.edu

Women’s Center Offers Fall Programs To Celebrate 10^th Anniversary

FEMINIST GLORIA STEINEM TO LEAD PANEL DISCUSSION

Gloria Steinem, co-founder of Ms. magazine and one of America’s best-known feminists, will lead a panel discussion about the past and future of feminism Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m., in the U.Va. School of Law’s Caplin Auditorium. The discussion is open to the public and free of charge.

The other panelists joining Steinem will be Marcia Ann Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Ms. magazine, and Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner, authors of "Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future."

The panel discussion is the fourth of a year-long series of events planned for this fall to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the U.Va. Women’s Center.

The keystone event of the "Women 2000: Shapers of the World" speakers series will be a conference on Thursday, Nov. 2, honoring nine U.Va. alumnae, who have received the Distinguished Alumna Award bestowed by the Women’s Center. The conference will feature panel discussions on several topics, including health, science and technology, and social justice and human rights.

The last event of the day will be a forum for the alumnae to offer advice to the new president of the United States, five days before the national presidential election.

The "Women 2000: Shapers of the World" series includes:

Playwright and actress Aviva Jane Carlin in "Jodie's Body," a nearly sold-out dramatic performance that explores women’s issues, in particular, body image and eating disorders, Sept. 22-24, Friday and Saturday, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, at 2 p.m., Helms Theatre; Sunday 8 p.m., PVCC's V. Earl Dickinson Building

Human Rights Campaign Director Elizabeth Birch, a featured speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and a leader in the struggle for gay rights, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m., U.Va.’s Jefferson Hall, Hotel C, West Range

Donald G. McPherson, former NFL quarterback, educator and ESPN commentator, in a talk titled, "You Throw Like a Girl," will discus traditional gender norms and the role of sports in developing men’s attitudes toward gender identity, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m., U.Va. School of Nursing’s McLeod Hall

Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Howard University who is in training to become an astronaut, will discuss the importance of minorities and females in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering, Oct. 17, at 12:30 p.m., Cavalier Inn, Conference Room B

Since its founding in 1990, the Women’s Center has offered education and services to University of Virginia students, faculty, staff and alumni as well as members of the surrounding community, both women and men.

With the Young Women Leaders Program and the mentoring initiatives, free personal and career counseling, the Free Legal Clinic, traveling workshops, support groups and the Sexual Assault Education Office, the center has become a national model for effective outreach to women.

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For more information about any of these programs, call the Women’s Center at (804) 982-2361, or visit: http://womenscenter.virginia.edu.

Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.