EIU Media Relations

Annual Women of Achievement Awards Ceremony Planned

Two local women and a recent graduate will be honored as Women of Achievement when Eastern Illinois University concludes its Women's History and Awareness Month celebration next week.

Joanna Swick of Mattoon, Janet T. Marquardt of Charleston and EIU alumna Stefanie Michaelis will be the guests of honor at this year's annual awards reception, scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in the 1895 Room of Eastern's University Union. The public is welcome - and encouraged - to attend.

Swick, a retired educator who taught in the Tinley and Mattoon school districts, as well as the Mattoon Area Adult Center, is known for her leadership in several local organizations. She has freely given of her time and talents to the Coles County Retired Teachers Association, Friends of the Mattoon Library, the Mattoon Community Food Bank and to P.E.O., a philanthropic organization focused on higher education opportunities for women. She also is active with the First Presbyterian Church of Mattoon, and is a graduate of Eastern.

Marquardt, a faculty member in Eastern's Department of Art, is known as a teacher and mentor who has made a difference in her students' lives. She is the former chair of EIU's women's studies minor, former coordinator of the EIU Living History Program and a mentor for the Career Development Workshop in the College Art Association. She is a scholar whose "feminist perspective has enriched art history."

Michaelis, a Fall 2003 graduate from St. Charles , remained active in both scholarly and extracurricular activities throughout her college career. In addition to her involvement with several organizations, including EIU PRIDE, the EIU Fair Trade Coalition, Alpha Kappa Delta (National Honor Society in Sociology), the Sociology Club and the Newman Catholic Center, she participated in rallies, teach-ins and protests for peace. Her academic interests led to research on issues of feminist identity and gay/lesbian identity. She was enrolled in Eastern's Honors College and was named to the university Deans' List.

In conjunction with the awards ceremony, winners of the Women's Studies Program's 2004 essay contest will be honored. This year's recipients include:

• First Place ($85), Graduate Student -- Lee Roll of Brocton, a graduate student in English, for her essay, "Jean Rhys, Anna Morgan and the Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Contemporary Perspective."
• First Place ($85), Undergraduate Student - Jessica Nodulman of Villa Park , a senior speech communication major, for her essay, "Natural Women, The Rhetoric of Women."
• Second Place ($50), Undergraduate Student - Lavada R. Simpson of Fairfield, a senior English major, for her essay, "The Lady and the Bad Woman: A Look at Milton's Female Characters."
• Third Place ($30), Undergraduate Student - Amanda Mesirow of Homewood, a senior English major (with a women's studies minor), for her essay, "The Medusa Complex: A Study of Victim and Society Responses to Rape."

The Women of Achievement awards ceremony is sponsored by Eastern's Women's Studies Program, with the support of the university's College of Arts and Humanities.