WASHINGTON – The 2009 AAUW/NASPA National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, set for June 4–6 at the University of Maryland, College Park, will feature inspiring speakers, the ever-popular Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony, and dynamic workshops.
With the theme "Leadership for Today and Tomorrow," the conference includes networking opportunities and more than 50 workshops on a variety of topics such as advocacy, leadership skill building, financial management, and health and wellness. Campaign College, a groundbreaking workshop that encourages young women to run for campus office, will be offered as well.
More than 300 campus leaders from 38 states, the West Indies, and Nepal will attend the annual event presented by the AAUW Leadership and Training Institute and the NASPA Center for Scholarship, Research, and Professional Development for Women. AAUW branches and members from across the nation have given generously and provided scholarships for nearly 70 students to attend.
This year's Women of Distinction awardees are Diane Rehm, host of The Diane Rehm Show; Anucha Browne Sanders, senior associate athletic director of marketing at the University at Buffalo; Martine Rothblatt, founder of United Therapeutics; Melissa Poe Hood, founder of Kids for a Clean Environment; and L. Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will give Saturday's keynote address.
Conference participants also will learn how their peers have been inspired by AAUW's 2008 research report, Where the Girls Are: The Facts About Gender Equity in Education, to help women and girls break through educational barriers. While both boys and girls are making steady educational gains, the AAUW report found significant disparities based on family income, race, and ethnicity. Eleven AAUW-funded Campus Action Project teams from around the country have developed programs to address some of the barriers highlighted in the report.
"The National Conference for College Women Student Leaders is one of AAUW's greatest traditions. We are investing in the future generation of women leaders by exposing them to outstanding role models and giving them the tools they need to continue on their path to success. This conference also provides these talented women with a chance to interact with other rising stars from around the globe," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE.
"Those of us in student affairs are committed to educating the whole student and integrating student life and learning," said NASPA Executive Director Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy. "Given the many challenges facing the world today, the young women attending this conference will return to their campuses with the kinds of tools that will enable them to effect positive change in their communities."
Prudential and the Princeton Review are the Platinum Sponsors of the 2009 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, including the Women of Distinction Awards. Other conference sponsors include the National Panhellenic Conference and the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
Since 1985, the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders has provided a platform to help thousands of college and university women develop leadership skills, network with other student leaders, and interact with women who hold leadership positions. The conference is presented by AAUW and NASPA. AAUW is among the world's leaders in philanthropic support for women's higher education and is committed to ending the underrepresentation of women and girls in leadership and key professional positions. NASPA, the leading voice for student affairs administration, policy, and practice, affirms the commitment of student affairs to educating the whole student and integrating student life and learning.
To learn more about the conference's keynote speakers and the 2009 Women of Distinction, visit http://www.aauw.org/nccwsl/2009/wod.cfm.
