From the Director:

The new reality we are all experiencing as a result of COVID-19 has led to much uncertainty, some anxiety, and definitely a good bit of disruption to people’s daily routines. I’ll be honest: I crave order and stability, and these are in short supply lately. One thing the staff of the Women’s Center has done to address our desire for routine is to plan a set of virtual events for April. These events are listed below. Each week, we will be holding a Community Hour on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons, so please feel free to pop in to ask a question or just to say hello. We’d love to see you! We are also reachable by e-mail (womenctr@vanderbilt.edu). Please let us know how we may assist you.

In case you didn’t know, March 31 is Equal Pay Day; this date symbolizes the point in the year that the average woman has to work to make the same wages earned by the average man during the preceding calendar year. This is the first time in my memory that Equal Pay Day has been recognized in March, which shows that the gender wage gap is closing. However, until Equal Pay Day is observed on December 31, we won’t have true pay equity! To learn more about the gender wage gap or myths related to the gender pay gap, I encourage you to look at this video or this one. In addition to watching these videos and interacting with us on social media, where we will be recognizing Equal Pay Day, you may wish to work through the online version of the AAUW Work Smart salary negotiation workshop. We will also be hosting a live online Start Smart salary negotiation workshop on April 13. I hope that many of you can join us!

We haven’t solidified all of our plans for the fall yet, but we are planning a wide set of events connected to the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment. Our series will focus on women, politics, and public service. To begin thinking about this commemoration, we will be showing a portion of the yet-to-be released documentary The Vote. Part of the acclaimed American Experience series on PBS, The Vote tells the story of the American women’s suffrage movement. I hope you can join us for this online event on April 16.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to a time soon when we can return to campus and be together in person!

– Rory

This spring, the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center named four individuals from the Vanderbilt community as recipients of its annual awards. Although these awards are usually announced at the Cuninggim Lecture on Women in Culture and Society, because this event was canceled, we are announcing award recipients here. A public recognition will occur at the Cuninggim Lecture, which will be rescheduled for the fall semester.

The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center Leadership Award honors an undergraduate or graduate student who demonstrates leadership in activities that contribute to the achievements, interests, and goals of women or that promote gender equity. This year, a student at Vanderbilt Law School was presented with this award.

Hannah Martins Miller is a third-year law student whose example “encourages women to not simply break, but shatter glass ceilings with gusto,” according to one of her nominators. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review, and is only the third woman in the history of the publication in this role. Another nominator writes that “what makes her so deserving of this award is that she excels in pushing through barriers that remain for women as leaders in this country. She does so with courage, self-confidence, and humility. It is absolutely innate to who she is.” After participating in Army ROTC as an undergraduate at Princeton University, she was promoted to Battalion Plans Officer after only two years in the Army MP Corps. Her education at Vanderbilt Law has been supported by the Funded Legal Education Program, which selects only 25 officers from the Army each year to sponsor.

The Mentoring Award honors a member of the Vanderbilt University community who fosters the professional and intellectual development of Vanderbilt women. This year there are two winners.

The first recipient of the Mentoring Award is Nicole Creanza, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. Professor Creanza’s nominator writes that, in fifteen years at Vanderbilt, “I have never met a professor so dedicated to the success and well-being of their students.” Multiple undergraduate and graduate students, along with a postdoc and faculty member, shared testimony about the opportunities created and confidence developed through Professor Creanza’s mentoring. One nominator, an undergraduate, writes of her happiness at being able to join Professor Creanza’s lab: “As a student of color, this is one of the spaces on campus I feel the most comfortable thanks to her hard work to cultivate a lab culture that is welcome to all.” A Ph.D. student explains that Professor Creanza’s example teaches that “one doesn’t need to mold themselves to fit into the rigid, results-only driven structure of academia in order to make it as a PI, and that as scientists we can both move the field forward and care about the people that help us achieve that.”

The second recipient of the Mentoring Award is Vivien Fryd, Professor of the History of Art. According to her nominator, Professor Fryd “has fostered the intellectual and professional development of Vanderbilt women for the thirty-five years she has been on the faculty.” Another nominator explains that her “tireless efforts on behalf of the History of Art majors’ association… is a model for faculty mentoring of students.” In addition to enriching the experiences of students, Professor Fryd has supported junior women faculty, scheduling regular check-in meetings and offering to read drafts of works-in-progress. One nominator stated that her own book “sailed through the peer review process, in part because of the close eye Vivien took in her reading of it. Vivien does this labor out of a desire to see me succeed and to help the field of American art history advance.”

The Mary Jane Werthan Award is presented annually to an individual who has contributed significantly to the advancement of women at Vanderbilt University. The award honors three qualities characteristic of the first recipient for whom it is named: vision, persistence, and extraordinary skill in interpersonal and institutional relations.

This year’s winner of the Mary Jane Werthan Award is Dara Dixon, manager of the Student Health Clinic. A registered nurse, Dixon has made two issues a priority in her work at the clinic. The first issue has been increasing access to birth control by advocating for student health insurance to cover IUD insertions and implantable birth control insertions. The second, and perhaps even more significant, goal has been to establish comprehensive sexual assault care in the Student Health Center. Dixon’s work enabled the launch of the joint VU–VUMC sexual assault nurse examiner program and the availability of the forensic exam at the Student Health Center. In order to get this program established, Dixon worked persistently with VUMC, VUPD, Metro PD, the Metro and State Crime labs, and the Metro sexual assault program. One of her recommenders calls Dixon an “unsung hero,” stating that her “efforts may, unfortunately, not be as visible as the work of some others, as the provision of services to sexual assault survivors is, by design, as private as possible.”

Women’s Center Community Hour

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

To join, click here.

Chill with the Women’s Center

April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24

1:00–2:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

Join us as we take our minds off living in a pandemic by watching some lighthearted comedies!

To join, click here.

Virtual Inclusive Book Group: A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler

Tuesday, April 7, 12:00–1:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

Join us to discuss this novel about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont.

To join, click here.

Virtual Single Parent Group

Wednesday, April 8, 12:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

To join, click here.

Virtual Interview Tips & Strategies

Wednesday, April 8, 3:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 317 974 167

In this session, we will cover a plethora of tips and strategies you can use to be successful in a virtual interview.

To join, click here.

Coffee with Special Guests

Ruth Schemmer, Assistant Dean for Career Development, The Graduate School

Kim Petrie, Assistant Dean for Biomedical Career Development, BRET Office

Stacey Satchell, Graduate Life Coach, The Graduate School

Cynthia Brame, Associate Director, Center for Teaching

Friday, April 10, 10:00 a.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

To join, click here.

AAUW Start Smart Salary Negotiation Workshop (online)

Monday, April 13, 1:00–2:30 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

Presented by Rory Dicker, Director, and Brianna Nesbitt, Assistant Director, Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center

To join, click here.

Virtual Parenting Group

Wednesday, April 15, 12:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

To join, click here.

Screening and Discussion of The Vote

Thursday, April 16, 3:00 p.m. CT

Zoom Meeting ID: 601 567 192

Watch and discuss a section of a new documentary about the American women’s suffrage movement

To join, click here.

AAUW Work Smart Salary Negotiation Online Workshop

This online module allows participants to go at their own pace to learn how to negotiate a job offer.

Sign up here!

Submit for Susan Ford Wiltshire Essay Contest

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program is accepting submissions for the annual Susan Ford Wiltshire Essay Contest. Complete the submission form here and send in your essays by Monday, April 13 at 5 p.m. to Barbara Kaeser at barbara.kaeser@vanderbilt.edu.