News Release

Carolina honors three individuals
with women’s advancement awards

CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today (March 27) honored three individuals with the University Awards for the Advancement of Women.

The awards honor individuals who have mentored or supported women on campus, elevated the status of women or improved campus policies for them, promoted women’s recruitment and retention, or promoted professional development for women.

A reception for the award, which was created last year, was held this afternoon at The Carolina Inn in conjunction with the campus’ 10th annual Women’s Week, which began Saturday and runs through Friday.

The three winners – one faculty member, one staff member and one student, graduate student or postdoctoral scholar are eligible – each receive a monetary award. The faculty and staff winners receive a check for $5,000; the student scholar, a check for $2,500.

This year’s award winners are: Emily Anne Dunn, a senior anthropology major; Dr. Barbara Harris, history professor and chairwoman of the Curriculum in Women’s Studies, both in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Annette Madden, associate director for professional development and enrichment programs at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.

Dunn, of Boca Raton, Fla., created a women’s empowerment and safety organization, called Project Dinah, during her freshman year at Carolina. The organization educates men and women about sexual assault and prevention, and it oversees the annual “Take Back the Night” event for women’s empowerment. Project Dinah has offered free self-defense classes, handed out safety whistles to students, and disseminated rape prevention information. Through her efforts with the program, Dunn has worked to eradicate stereotypes about rape and spur discussions about its prevention.

Harris, of Chapel Hill, has overseen the development and expansion of the Curriculum in Women’s Studies for nearly two decades. Under her leadership, the curriculum has grown from a sub-discipline within the larger interdisciplinary major to an independent curriculum that offers majors and minors to undergraduates and certificates of concentration to graduates. Harris was president of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians from 1990-93, and she is vice president and president-elect of the North American Conference on British Studies.

Madden, of Durham, is director of the Friday Center’s Bridges Program for Academic Leadership for Women. For the last 10 years, she has provided opportunities for female faculty and staff across the UNC system and other colleges and universities to learn leadership skills for advancing their careers in an academic setting. The program educates women on topics including legal and ethical matters in higher education, institutional crisis management, academic budget management, leadership and career development.

The University Awards for the Advancement of Women were created following the retirement of the Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award in 2004.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/award/womensaward/women's_award.jpg

News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093, lisa_katz@unc.edu