Panel Will Celebrate Achievements of Boundary Breaking Women

Boundary Breaking Women's panel will feature Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone

Media Contact: Terry_Goodrich, 254-710-3321
Follow Baylor Media Communications on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

by Jessie Jilovec, student newswriter

WACO, Texas (Sept. 10, 2018) – Baylor University’s women’s and gender studies program will present its annual Boundary Breaking Women’s Panel to celebrate women’s achievements at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center.

This year’s event will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Amelia Bloomer, a suffragist, newspaper editor and temperance activist who fought for women’s dress reform. In honor of Bloom’s social activism, the panel’s theme is “Redefining Womanhood.” Lisa Shaver, Ph.D., associate professor of English, said the panel aims to promote the women’s gender studies minor and the various contributions of women throughout history.

“Sadly, few of us are aware of these individuals who opened new fields and occupations for women and made major social, scientific, intellectual and artistic contributions,” Shaver said. “Their stories provide a richer and more accurate understanding of our history as well as amazing stories of ingenuity and perseverance.”

The Boundary Breaking Women’s Panel began in 2014, when the United States Treasury Department announced plans to place a woman on U.S. currency. Kimberly Kellison, Ph.D., associate professor of history and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, participated that year in a Treasury roundtable of women leaders in various fields to provide feedback on the announcement. As Kellison returned to Baylor, she created the first Boundary Breaking Women’s panel with faculty to discuss which women should be featured on currency. Shaver said the panel was a success, and the department has continued the discussion annually.

“We know far too few remarkable women,” Shaver said. “Their stories have traditionally been excluded and overlooked in the academy. That’s why this panel is so important.”

The panel will include 10 Baylor faculty members who will each highlight a woman whose efforts redefined womanhood. This year, Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., will be featured on the panel and speak on Frances Willard, a college president who later served as president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

In addition to President Livingstone, these faculty members will speak on various boundary-breaking women:

• Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., family and consumer sciences: Amelia Bloomer, American editor and women’s rights activist, temperance and dress reform (1818-1894)
• Sarah Ford, Ph.D., English: Anne Bradstreet, America’s first published poet (1612-1672)
• Ivy Hamerly, Ph.D., political science: Lillian Gilbreth, American psychologist and industrial engineer (1878-1972)
• Macarena Hernandez, M.J., journalism, public relations and new media: Sandra Cisneros, Mexican-American writer (1954-)
• Steven Jug, Ph.D., modern languages and cultures: Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and 2015 Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature (1948-)
• Marcie Moehnke, Ph.D., biology: Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian scientist and 1986 Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine (1909-2012)
• Lakia Scott, Ph.D., curriculum and instruction: Ella Baker, American civil rights activist (1903-1985)
• H. Jennings Sheffield, M.F.A, art: Nikki S. Lee, Korean artist who utilizes photography and performance (1970-)
• Julie Anne Sweet, Ph.D., history: Deborah Sampson, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolution (1760-1827)

The Cashion Academic Center is located at 1401 S. Fourth St. For more information, contact Lisa Shaver at 254-710-6547 or Lisa_Shaver@baylor.edu.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.