2024 Women’s History Month Celebration
March 2024
University of Mary Washington 2024 Women’s History Month Program Proposal Form
Fill out the form here.
We invite members of the University of Mary Washington community to submit proposals for the annual Women’s History Month Program. The theme for this celebration is, “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” Proposals are due by Friday, December 8, 2023. The deadline for open-class proposals is Friday, January 12, 2024. The sponsor(s) will be notified promptly. Approved programs will be included on the Women’s History Month calendar, as well as in print and electronic publications. All programs must secure their source of funding, if applicable.
Women’s Basic Necessities Drive
March 1 – 31 | DONATION LOCATION: James Farmer Multicultural Center
Co-sponsored by UMW NAACP College Chapter, Women of Color, and the Latino Student Association
UMW NAACP CC, Women of Color, and the Latino Student Association are sponsoring a month-long drive with a local non-profit organization aiming to collect basic resources for women in the greater Fredericksburg area. We are asking for your donations for basic necessities including: food, clothes, and feminine hygiene projects. All donations will be given to the Empowehouse, a local shelter and resource for victims of domestic violence.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium
Wednesday, March 13 | 4-6 pm | Lee Hall, Room 411
Sponsored by the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
UMW students showcase their undergraduate research in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
Great Lives Series: Edith (Mrs. Woodrow) Wilson
Tuesday, March 12, 2024| 7:30 pm | Dodd Auditorium, George Washington Hall
The Chancellor’s Village Lecture
Beautiful, brilliant, charismatic, catty, and calculating, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was a complicated figure whose personal quest for influence reshaped the position of First Lady into one of political prominence forever. And still nobody truly understands who she was. She climbed her way out of Appalachian poverty and into the highest echelons of American power and in 1919 effectively acted as the first woman president of the U.S. (before women could even vote nationwide) when her husband, Woodrow Wilson, was incapacitated. Join Rebecca Boggs Roberts, author of Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson for a frank discussion of history, power, and Edith Wilson’s legacy. Speaker: Rebecca Roberts
Great Lives Lecture and Women’s History Month Major Speaker: Billie Jean King by biographer Johnette Howard
Thursday, March 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Dodd Auditorium, George Washington Hall
Billie Jean King is acknowledged as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, as attested by the fact that she won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 20 at Wimbledon, and was ranked as the #1 women’s player in the world six times. Among her most memorable accomplishments on the court was her victory over Bobby Riggs in 1973 in the so-called Battle of the Sexes, watched by 90 million viewers.
But beyond her singular athletic achievements, she has been in the vanguard of the movement for social justice and equality. In 1990 she was named by Life magazine as one of the “100 Most Important Americans in the 20th Century” and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her work on behalf of women and the LGBT community.
Johnette Howard is an award-winning author who has written for the Washington Post, Newsday, and Sports Illustrated, among other publications, and has also served as an on-air commentator for ESPN. She has written two books, the most recent being a collaboration with Billie Jean king on the acclaimed tennis player’s autobiography, titled All In.
Women in STEM
Friday, March 15 | 5:30 p.m. | Digital Auditorium, HCC
Co-sponsored by OPTICA
The panel discussion will engage women in STEM from industry and academia. Panelists will share their journeys in their respective fields. They will also take questions from the audience.
Great Lives Series: Elizabeth Taylor
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | 7:30 pm | Dodd Auditorium, George Washington Hall
The Jubilation by Silver Companies Lecture
No celebrity rivals Elizabeth Taylor’s glamour and guts or her level of fame. She was the last major star to come out of the old Hollywood studio system, and she is a legend known for her beauty and her magnetic screen presence in a career that spanned most of the twentieth century and nearly sixty films.
But her private life was even more compelling than her Oscar-winning on-screen performances. During her seventy-nine years of rapid-fire love and loss she was married eight times to seven different men. Above all, she was a survivor—by the time she was twenty-six she was twice divorced and once widowed. Her life was a soap opera that ended in a deeply meaningful way when she became the first major celebrity activist to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS. A co-founder of amfAR, she raised more than $100 million for research and patient care. She was also a shrewd businesswoman who made a fortune as the first celebrity performer who always demanded to be paid what she was worth.
In the first-ever authorized biography of the Hollywood icon, Kate Andersen Brower reveals the world through Elizabeth’s eyes. Brower uses Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries, and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family to tell the full, unvarnished story of her remarkable career and her explosive private life that made headlines worldwide. Speaker: Kate A. Brower
Voices of Diversity: A Student Panel on International Experiences
Wednesday, March 20 | 6 – 7:30 pm | Lee Hall, Room 411
Sponsored by the Center for International Education
Going abroad can be intimidating for a variety of reasons, but especially for first- time or less experiences travelers, people of color, and those of different abilities. However, international experience continues to gain value in a globalized world and economy. Come and learn more about international travel opportunities and resources along with listening to the first-hand experiences of a diverse panel of students who have been abroad during their time at UMW.
Muslim Women’s Day Art Demonstration
Wednesday, March 27 | 8 – 5 pm | Around Campus
Co-sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine, Islamic Student Alliance, Muslim Student Association, Fredericksburg Muslim Youth
Keep an eye out around campus to view some of the extraordinary art created by Muslim women on the front lines of their movements.
Women’s History Month: Mixed Media Showcase
Thursday, March 28 | 6:00pm 5:00pm | Underground, Lee Hall
Co-sponsored by NAACP, Women of Color, Latino Student Association
Join us for the Women’s History Month: Mixed Media Art Showcase! Come celebrate women in the arts with showcases of traditional art, digital art, fiber art, prose and poetry, music, and dance! We encourage all UMW women to submit their work!
Submit Your Work HERE!
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information, please contact the James Farmer Multicultural Center at 540/654-1044 or visit www.students.umw.edu/multicultural.
Please email us at umwjfmc@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding disability-related accommodations.