The Atrium in Stamp Student Union bristled with female energy as faculty, staff and students filled the room to congratulate and honor exemplary women of the University of Maryland, hosted by the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues (PCWI), which advocates for gender equality for the university.
Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of Community Engagement, introduced each speaker and award winners with enthusiasm, starting with keynote speaker Bonnie Thornton Dill, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. Dill is also a women’s studies professor and a pioneering scholar studying the intersections of race, class and gender with an emphasis on African-American women.
“These accomplishments in leadership, in scholarship and service, illustrate the many and varied ways women, faculty, staff and students contribute to the overall mission of the university, and heighten its excellence,” Dill said.
The first award recipient Noa Balf, a government and politics doctoral student, won the Outstanding Graduate Student Award for her extensive research on the underrepresentation of women in politics. Additionally, Balf was the first graduate student to be affiliated with the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute of Israel Studies, and had the opportunity to research women in the Israeli Parliament and leading female activists this past summer.
“The University of Maryland has been an empowering and academically gratifying experience for me,” Balf said, describing her excitement to present her work at the Midwest Political Science Association.
“This work is intended to address a crucial puzzle: Why does gender inequality persist? And what role does political representation play in this puzzle?”
Paige Elizabeth Smith received the Outstanding Exempt Staff Award. Smith is currently the director of theWomen in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) at UMD. Smith led WEPAN in hopes to increase more young girls interest in engineering, “which is very hard to do,” Blackwell added jokingly.
“This is something that is very near and dear to my heart,” Smith said, “because I know what it’s like to go through engineering as one of a few, at a time where political correctness was just starting to become the norm.” With her leadership and the support from the university and PCWI, 29 percent of this year’s freshmen class was in engineering, which was significantly higher than the national average.
Laura Anderson Wright, who served as university counsel at UMD since 1995, won the Outstanding Woman of Color Award. Not only does Wright volunteer with the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery in her minimal spare time, but she also prioritizes her role as a wife and mother.
When Wright realized her family was in the room, she struggled to hold back tears as she thanked her husband and her “professional family” for their unyielding support.
“But the road has not always been easy,” Wright continued, “I have been spat on. I have been called the ‘N’ word. I have had my tires slashed. I have seen shock on faces of others when I walked into a room because they presumed that I was white.” Despite the hardships she endured, Wright became stronger and even more determined to live a life of integrity, generosity and self-worth, as she willed people to be more approachable and genuine.
And finally, Cynthia Roberts Hale was the recipient of the Outstanding Woman of the Year Award. Before Hale became the Associate Vice President for Personnel and Budget in the Office of the Provost, she was the director of Office of International and Executive Programs for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences since 2005. In addition to her vice presidency, Hale is currently the chair of the President’s Task force on Sexual Harassment Policies and Procedures.
Hale generously thanked her family, colleagues, friends and all those who nominated her, especially since she knows it takes time and energy to fill out forms despite their busy schedules.