University of Virginia Women's Center 1997 Distinguished Alumna Award
Honoree
WNBA PRESIDENT VALERIE B. ACKERMAN TO SPEAK HERE OCT. 17

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 12 -- With the success of the
opening season of the Women's National Basketball Association, its
president, Val Ackerman, will have a lot to say when she visits the
University of Virginia to receive the 1997 Distinguished Alumna Award
Oct. 17.  She will give a talk about women's professional sports and
working in the field, at 3 p.m.
in Minor Hall auditorium.  The presentation is free and open to the
public, and a reception will follow.
	"The WNBA represents, among other things, the burgeoning
opportunities for women in many fields," said Ackerman when she was
interviewed before the final championship game Aug. 30.
	Twenty years ago, when she was winning fans as a U.Va.
Cavalier basketball star, an American women's professional basketball
league was just a dream.  This year, starting in June and culminating
with the playoffs at the end of August, the WNBA's first season drew
more than a
million fans to watch the eight teams play around the country.
	Even before the WNBA players hit the courts, Ackerman, who
graduated from U.Va. in 1981 and started for the Cavaliers all four
years, was recognized for her achievements and picked for the
University's Distinguished Alumna Award.  The Women's Center
established the annual
award in 1991 to honor a female U.Va. graduate who has demonstrated
excellence, leadership and extraordinary commitment to her field, and
who has used her talents as a positive force for change. Previous
recipients are attorney Linda Fairstein, head of the Sex Crimes
Prosecution Unit of
the New York City District Attorney's Office; Dr. Vivian W. Pinn,
Director of the NIH Office 
OVER

of Research on Women's Health; journalist Katie Couric; astronaut
Kathryn Thornton; Middle East peace activist Hanan Ashrawi; and Rear
Admiral Mariann Stratton, Nurse Corps, U.S. Navy, Retired.
	Playing for Coach Debbie Ryan, Ackerman was captain of the
Cavaliers for three years and a two-time All-ACC Second Team
selection.  She also excelled as a student, majoring in political 
and social thought, and was recognized twice for her outstanding
grades as an Academic All- American.
	After playing one season of professional basketball in France,
Ackerman entered UCLA School of Law, receiving her law degree in 1985.
She joined a Wall Street law firm before starting her career with the
NBA in 1988 as a staff attorney and rose to Vice President of Business
Affairs by 1994.
	Ackerman, who lives in New York City with her husband, Charles
Rappaport, and daughters Emily and Sally, will receive the award on
Oct. 17 at a benefit dinner for the Women's Center at the home of
U.Va. President John T. Casteen III.
###
September 11, 1997
           



            For more information, call Anne Bromley, U.Va. News
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