By Rebecca A. Doyle
Three women will receive Women of Color Task Force awards at a 4 p.m. ceremony Thursday (April 29) in the Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union. U-M-Dearborn Chancellor James C. Renick will be keynote speaker.
Lynn Lesueur, office assistant in the Investment Office, will receive the Rebecca A. Vaughan Distinguished Service Award.
“Lynn was on more committees than any other member [of the task force] and was able to take the reins when times were difficult and make a smooth transition,” said Stephanie Estes-James in nominating her.
The award is presented to women who have given two or more years of service to the task force, have presented or facilitated a workshop, obtained resources, served as a role model or been an advocate for women of color, or served the University community, and who have invested time and energy in task force activities beyond the call of duty.
Edith A. Lewis, associate professor of social work, will receive the Woman of the Year in Leadership award. Lewis “has been active on the national, state and campus level to enhance education, scholarship and training using a multicultural focus,” said School of Social Work Dean Paula Allen Meares in her recommendation of Lewis.
“The scope of her activities has ranged from co-editing a major volume on multicultural teaching on the campus for national and international distribution to serving as faculty adviser for the Association of Black Social Work Students at the School of Social Work,” she continued.
The Woman of the Year in Leadership Award recognizes women who have shown leadership in both the University and the community, developed or implemented programs for people of color, excelled in the performance of her job in a specific leadership area and demonstrated progress in career development.
Claudia J. Alexander, graduate student research assistant in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, will receive the Woman of the Year in Human Relations Award. Alexander has made a “major commitment of time and energy to further the Adopt-A-School Program between the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences and Earhart Middle School in Detroit. She has presented a number of science units in classrooms at the school, as well as meeting with the science teachers,” said S. Roland Drayson, interim chair of the department, in nominating Alexander.
“However,” he continued, “her greatest contribution has been the organization of the whole program in which she and other graduate students participate at the school.”
The Woman of the Year in Human Relations Award is given to a woman who has contributed to the field of human relations in the past 12 months, made a significant impact on improving human relations at the U-M and in her community, and has demonstrated progress in her career development.
