Ferrum College - The Ferrum Newsstand

   The 9th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference begins on the evening of the 20th with a performance by Mountain Women Rising, a poetry/performance group affiliated with the Appalachian Women's Alliance. The Conference fills the following day, March 21st, with multiple sessions and speakers. This year’s keynote speaker Franki Patton Rutherford, executive director of Big Creek People in Action, a grassroots organization in McDowell County, WV. Alumna speaker J. Bernice Cobbs is a 1998 graduate of Ferrum and currently principal of Snow Creek Elementary School. Registration is available online at http://www.ferrum.edu/wlc.

    Mountain Women Rising is a 45-60 minute presentation on the work and issues of the Appalachian Women's Alliance. An excellent educational experience appropriate for classes in social studies, women's studies, and Appalachian studies, the performance can also be supplemented with workshops on related issues and art forms. Mountain Women Rising includes National Poetry Slam Champion and Ferrum Alumna Patricia Johnson as well as performers Gaye Johnson, Rema Keen, Edna Gulley, Meredith Dean and others. The Appalachian Women's Alliance is a movement of women and girls in Appalachian communities who are raising consciousness and self-esteem, sharing leadership and power, developing a collective analysis, creating a common vision, and taking collective action. Challenging traditional stereotypes, we are black, white and Cherokee, wage earners and welfare mothers, rural and urban, straight and gay, seven to seventy, with and without traditional education. Together, we are working for economic justice, human rights and dignity, and safety for women and children in Appalachian communities.

    In addition to the speakers at the conference, sessions are planned on examples of college-community partnerships such as the Smith Mountain Lake water Quality monitoring project, the Franklin County Schools' providing placements for our student teachers, our social work students' and the Bonner Scholars' service in various local agencies, the accounting students' tax preparation program, and the role of the Perinatal Education Clinic in counseling our students who may face pregnancy decisions. The Smith Mountain Lake branch of the American Association of University Women will host a tea, during which junior and senior women leaders at Ferrum College will be recognized. The 2006 Women’s Leadership Conference will include poster and essay contests for students, including students in the community, on the subject of interactions between Ferrum College and the community.

    For more information on the conference, contact Sandy Doss at (540) 365-4321. The Women’s Leadership Conference website is available at this address: http://www.ferrum.edu/wlc. This event is being co-sponsored by the Ferrum College Office of Multicultural Education and by the Student Leadership and Engagement Office.

More on Mountain Women Rising (PDF)

Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.

Concert Kick-Off For Women’s Leadership Conference March 20
For immediate release: March 13, 2006	Contact: Dean Browell , (540) 365-4301, dbrowell@ferrum.edu
The 9th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference begins on the evening of the 20th with a performance by Mountain Women Rising, a poetry/performance group affiliated with the Appalachian Women's Alliance. The Conference fills the following day, March 21st, with multiple sessions and speakers. This year’s keynote speaker Franki Patton Rutherford, executive director of Big Creek People in Action, a grassroots organization in McDowell County, WV. Alumna speaker J. Bernice Cobbs is a 1998 graduate of Ferrum and currently principal of Snow Creek Elementary School. Registration is available online at http://www.ferrum.edu/wlc. Mountain Women Rising is a 45-60 minute presentation on the work and issues of the Appalachian Women's Alliance. An excellent educational experience appropriate for classes in social studies, women's studies, and Appalachian studies, the performance can also be supplemented with workshops on related issues and art forms. Mountain Women Rising includes National Poetry Slam Champion and Ferrum Alumna Patricia Johnson as well as performers Gaye Johnson, Rema Keen, Edna Gulley, Meredith Dean and others. The Appalachian Women's Alliance is a movement of women and girls in Appalachian communities who are raising consciousness and self-esteem, sharing leadership and power, developing a collective analysis, creating a common vision, and taking collective action. Challenging traditional stereotypes, we are black, white and Cherokee, wage earners and welfare mothers, rural and urban, straight and gay, seven to seventy, with and without traditional education. Together, we are working for economic justice, human rights and dignity, and safety for women and children in Appalachian communities. In addition to the speakers at the conference, sessions are planned on examples of college-community partnerships such as the Smith Mountain Lake water Quality monitoring project, the Franklin County Schools' providing placements for our student teachers, our social work students' and the Bonner Scholars' service in various local agencies, the accounting students' tax preparation program, and the role of the Perinatal Education Clinic in counseling our students who may face pregnancy decisions. The Smith Mountain Lake branch of the American Association of University Women will host a tea, during which junior and senior women leaders at Ferrum College will be recognized. The 2006 Women’s Leadership Conference will include poster and essay contests for students, including students in the community, on the subject of interactions between Ferrum College and the community. For more information on the conference, contact Sandy Doss at (540) 365-4321. The Women’s Leadership Conference website is available at this address: http://www.ferrum.edu/wlc. This event is being co-sponsored by the Ferrum College Office of Multicultural Education and by the Student Leadership and Engagement Office. More on Mountain Women Rising (PDF) Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.
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