UW-Madison to Hold 13th Annual Recognition for Outstanding Women of Color on March 3

The thirteenth cohort of Outstanding Women of Color awardees will be honored at a virtual reception on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 6 p.m. CST as a YouTube broadcast.

The honor of being named an awardee is based on the premise that faculty, staff and community women who are deeply involved in teaching, research and outreach, along with personal and family responsibilities, are unsung heroes, Interim Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity & Inclusion Cheryl B. Gittens said. Their colleagues, friends and relatives all admire and appreciate them, and this is a chance to show the overall impact of their dedication hasn’t been overlooked.

Honorees say the true reward is getting to meet each other and welcome like-minded colleagues to a growing network.

“Typically, our honorees have never had an opportunity to meet, although they may have heard of one another,” Gittens said.  “It isn’t uncommon for them to form new working and volunteer partnerships and they always find new friendships and connections.”

Each year a new and impressive array of talented and passionate candidates emerge, Gittens said. This speaks to a campus and community that is growing ever richer academically and socially, as well as more welcoming, she added. These are just a few of many exciting reasons to recognize and celebrate a small portion of the excellence in our community year after year, Gittens said.

“This year’s virtual event will feature a collective presentation that brings us together in the spirit of past in-person gatherings and every year is a reunion of past and present honorees,” Gittens said. “So virtually gather your friends and family to meet our honorees and share this moment.”

This year’s six honorees include:

• Shenikqua Bouges, Advanced Geriatric Fellow, School of Medicine and Public Health/Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology;
• Mary Muse, State Director of Nursing, Wisconsin Department of Corrections;
• Jessica Perez Chavez, Doctoral Student, Counseling Psychology, School of Education;
• Leslie Petty, Assistant Dean of Evening, Executive, and Corporate Executive MBA Programs, Wisconsin School of Business;
• Sami Schalk, Associate Professor, Department of Gender & Women’s Studies, College of Letters and Sciences;
• Monica White, Associate Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Community and Environmental Sociology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Since 2007, UW–Madison has celebrated more than 60 honorees. Dozens more have been nominated for recognition by their campus and community colleagues and friends.

For more information on this year’s honorees go to 2021 Outstanding Women of Color.  For a full list of past honorees, please go to: Outstanding Women of Color Honorees.