Ferrum College Hosts 11th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference

For immediate release:
March 25, 2008
Contact: Natalie Faunce, (540) 365-4301
nfaunce@ferrum.edu



Ferrum College is pleased to announce the 11th Annual Women's Leadership Conference to be held Monday and Tuesday, April 14th and 15th on the College campus. The conference theme will echo the College’s 2007-2008 academic year theme of "Social and Economic Justice" and will focus on the contributions of women in these areas.

The conference will kick off with a Student Leadership Tea, on April 14th, co-sponsored by the American Association of University Women. During that time, Ferrum College junior and senior women leaders will be honored. In conjunction with the conference, Sister Helen Prejean, acclaimed author of Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents, and leading opponent of the death penalty, will speak that evening at 7 p.m. in Vaughn Chapel as The Wright Lecture Series speaker for 2008.

The conference will continue on April 15th with student poster presentations and panel discussions focusing on social economics. There will be interactive discussions on ways to solve social and economic problems locally, nationally and internationally, a film presentation on how advertising affects the social and economic status of women, and a performance by Ferrum College criminal justice students entitled "1,000 Kites." The alumna speaker will be Beth Crow '79, Diocesan Youth Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.

The close of the conference will feature the Appalachian Women's Alliance performance group Mountain Women Rising. This group portrays the lives of Appalachian women through poetry, stories and songs that highlight the struggles that women face in today’s modern society.

The Women's Leadership Conference was established in 1997 to educate members of the campus community and surrounding area about ways to enhance leadership opportunities for women to allow them to assume leading roles in their families, their professions, and their communities. The conference is a group effort among campus and community groups. This year's conference is co-sponsored by Ferrum College's Theme Committee, Integrated Programming Board, Office of Student Leadership and Engagement and the Office of Service Learning, and by the Appalachian College Association and the Smith Mountain Lake Chapter of the American Association of University Women.

For more information please call Nell Fredericksen at 540-365-7400 or visit the Women's Leadership Conference site.