On Thursday, March 29, Lamar University will host its first Inspirational Women Award Ceremony in honor of National Women’s History Month. The event will take place on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and a light lunch will be provided for attendees. Each of the women nominated for the award will be recognized at the event, and the award recipient will have an opportunity to address the audience and share her advice on how can Lamar University continue to inspire other women. 

The event is open to anyone, but organizers request that those who wish to attend RSVP at globaldiversity@lamar.edu.

The women that will be recognized are: Olayinka J. Jenmy, assistant director of Residence Life; Rezvan Khoshlessan, coordinator for the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement; Taylor Tucker, student; Sara P. Hillin, associate professor in the Department of English and Modern Languages; Clementine M. Msengi, visiting associate professor in the Center for Doctoral Studies in Education Leadership; Catalina T. Castillon, associate professor in the Department of English and Modern Languages, and assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Research; Madison Marino, student; and Ginger S. Gummelt, associate professor and program director for LU’s social work program.

In preparation for the event, the Office of Global Diversity invited students, faculty, staff and alumni to nominate Lamar University women whose actions or professional practices exemplified diversity and who by make significant contributions to the growth and success of women at the university. 

“We put together an application, and we invited people to nominate a Lamar University woman that has contributed to their growth and success of women at this institution,” said Imelda Wicks, executive director of Diversity, Inclusive Excellence, and Training and event organizer. “We asked individuals to tell us how the person they were nominating had put into practice the core values of Lamar University, how the nominee has contributed to the growth and success of women of Lamar University, and to provide concrete examples of those things.” 

To determine which of the nominees best demonstrated the qualities and values the Inspirational Women Award honors, a committee reviewed and scored each application according to the criteria set out by the Office of Global Diversity and Inclusive Excellence. Furthermore, all personal information for both the nominees and the individual who nominated them was redacted to eliminate potential bias that could favor one person over another, assuring the committee would remain neutral.

“The committee didn’t know who these people were, they just read what was said of the person. They did not know who submitted the nomination, and they did not know the name of the person that was being nominated. The focus was mainly on the actions and practices exemplifying diversity and inclusive excellence that women of Lamar University are making with their contribution to the growth and success of women,” said Wicks.

Wicks says that the Inspirational Woman Award will become an annual staple at Lamar, and that she plans for this event to be the first in a series of events on campus that aim to recognize various groups and their impact at the university.

For more information, contact Imelda Wicks at (409) 880-8216.