Two honored with Outstanding Women of Color award

Linda Denise Oakley and Joann Pritchett, Madison winners of the University of Wisconsin System Outstanding Women of Color award, will be honored by the campus community at a reception on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

The event will take place from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge of the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., with the program starting at 3:45 p.m. Provost Peter Spear and Associate Vice Chancellor for Climate and Diversity Bernice Durand will give brief remarks. The event is free and open to the public.

“Linda and Joann have both been deeply involved in the university and the community, and have made great contributions both on and off the job,” Durand says. “I have had the pleasure of knowing them both for several years and am delighted that each was selected for this year’s award.”

Oakley, associate professor of nursing, has focused on the health-care needs of disadvantaged women by developing, testing and implementing new models of psychiatric care for women struggling with the effects of poverty, discrimination and abuse. She examines emerging therapies to reduce or prevent depression among poor working women.

In her role as nurse researcher and mental health-care provider, Oakley’s work weaves together factors associated with the complex interplay of culture, family and community. She has improved understanding of treatment issues for women of color with depression, helped create a neighborhood clinic and established bridges between UW–Madison and the community.

Pritchett, who recently retired, spent more than 25 years at the university as a clinical faculty member in the School of Nursing, a doctoral student, a research specialist in the Center for Biological Education and a student services program manager in the School of Pharmacy.

In 1993, Pritchett moved to the School of Pharmacy as the director of the Minority Affairs Program. She served as principal adviser for all professional-level students, 70 percent of whom are women. Two of her most notable accomplishments in this position are the development of a pre-School of Pharmacy handbook, which is being widely used in the U.S. and abroad, and the Taste of MAPP (Minority Affairs Program in Pharmacy), an annual event that uses food and its preparation to celebrate the diversity of the student body, and improve the climate for all of the students.

In all, 17 women from across the UW System will be honored through the 2005 Outstanding Women of Color awards. One additional Madison winner, Marion Brown, vice president of development for the University of Wisconsin Foundation, will be honored as the UW System Administration recipient.

All three women will be further recognized by UW System President Kevin Reilly at the 29th Annual Conference of the UW System Women’s Studies Consortium and the 10th Annual Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award Ceremony, to be held April 15-16 at the Pyle Center.

More information about the conference and the 2005 UW System Women of Color Ceremony and Reception also can be found on the Women’s Studies Consortium Web site.