UW-Madison GLBT group honors education leaders

Citing leadership in educational work, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Council (GLBTAC) will honor two Madison-area advocates and an Alabama professor during its 15th annual brunch on Sunday, July 9.

Judi Devereux and Emily Dickmann, both of Madison, and Steve Miller of Tuscaloosa, Ala., will receive GLBTAC’s highest recognition, the Distinguished Alumni Award, at the brunch, which occurs during Madison’s Pride Weekend. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, who represents the Madison area and graduated from the UW–Madison Law School, will also be in attendance.

Devereux and Dickmann were both nominated for their work with the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network of South-Central Wisconsin (GLSEN-SCW), an organization that seeks to create a safe environment for GLBT students and staff at Wisconsin schools. The organization recently changed its name to the Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (GSA for Safe Schools).

Devereux studied interior design at UW–Madison and has worked as a free-lance Web designer. Though she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 1990, she continues to be active with GLSEN-SCW/GSA for Safe Schools, where she is co-chair of the board. She helped plan that organization’s 10th annual Celebration of Leadership in May.

Dickmann, who graduated from UW–Madison in 1997, is an academic adviser at the university’s Chadbourne Residential College. A close friend of Devereux’s, she helped in the planning of the 2006 Celebration of Leadership, and she has served GLSEN-SCW as a grant writer, as a member of the finance committee and as chair.

Miller is a professor in the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, where he coordinates the master of fine arts program in book arts. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology from UW–Madison in 1972, he founded Red Ozier Press, which specialized in publishing literary first editions and handmade limited editions. He joined Alabama’s faculty in 1988, and he teaches courses in letterpress printing and hand papermaking. He is also the proprietor of Red Hydra Press, where he designs and prints limited-edition, handmade books and ephemera.

Each year, the GLBT Alumni Council honors UW–Madison graduates who have shown an exemplary commitment to the GLBT community and have demonstrated excellence in their life’s work as a self-identified GLBT person or ally. The event is open to the public and will be held from 10 a.m.-noon at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison. Brunch tickets are $16 per person, and the registration deadline is Friday, June 30.

Call P.J. Hoesly at (608) 262-9646 for more information.