2001 Susan B. Anthony Legacy Dinner

February 8, 2001

"I wish I could make you girls and women of today realize what going to college meant to me and to many other girls... To actually go to college, and really graduate, and wear a cap and gown, the very thought of it made every nerve in my body tingle."
Letter of Vera Chadwell Twitchell, Class of 1904, University of Rochester

Hosted by the Anthony Center and the University of Rochester Women's Club, the 2001 Susan B. Anthony Legacy Dinner looked beyond the centennial of women's admission to the University of Rochester to the next century of women's opportunities at the University. Featured speakers included: Deborah Cory-Slechta, Ph.D., Dean of Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who addressed "The Future of Women in Medicine and Science"; and Alana Golazeski, '02, who gave "A Short History of Women at the University of Rochester" and updated attendees on the fundraising progress to purchase memorial markers for the graves of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, who are buried in Rochester at the Mount Hope Cemetary.

Award recipients included:

Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Awards:

2001 Lifetime Achievement Award:
Barbara Iglewski, Ph.D.
Barbara Hotham Iglewski, Ph.D., is a 2001 recipient of the Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Iglewski graduated from Allegheny College in 1960 with a B.S. in biology and went on to complete her Ph.D. in microbiology at Pennsylvania State University. After several years spent researching and teaching at the University of Colorado, the Public Health Research Institute of New York City, and at the Oregon Health Services University, she came to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry as professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in 1986. Dr. Iglewski was the first woman to chair a department at the Medical School. Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Awards

2001 Lifetime Achievement Award:
Elizabeth McAnarney, M.D.
Elizabeth R. McAnarney, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Pediatrician-in-Chief of the Children's Hospital at Strong, is also a recipient of the 2001 Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. McAnarney graduated from Vassar College in 1962 and received her M.D. degree from the SUNY Upstate Medical Center in 1966. She came to the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1968 to begin a two-year fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics. In 1971, she became director of the Medical Center's Adolescent Program and the Division of Adolescent Medicine. She has been chair of the Department of Pediatrics since 1993.

Student Award Recipients:

2001 Susan B. Anthony Scholarship:
Claudia Gutierrez, '02
Claudia Gutierrez, '02, is winner of the Susan B. Anthony Scholarship. Claudia grew up in El Paso, Texas and became the first in her family to attend a four-year university. In an essay about herself, Claudia writes that she has a responsibility to "pre-serve my culture... but still shape a better future for myself, my family and future generations." To shape that future, Claudia pursues a major in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. She has been on the Dean's List three of her first four semesters. Claudia works hard to foster equal opportunity, especially, she writes, "for children of financially needy and troubled homes." As High School Outreach 2000 Program Coordinator for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Claudia counseled high school students to "rise up through education." Her nominator states that "Claudia is more than a great student and friend, she is an agent of positive change for our community."

2001 Susan B. Anthony Prize:
Awista Ayub, '01
Awista Ayub, '01, receives this year's Susan B. Anthony Prize. Awista will graduate this spring with a B.S. in Chemistry. Her sponsor writes, "Awista truly loves helping other people find ways to reach their goals." That love is evident in all her activities—from founding and coaching UR's first Women's Ice Hockey Team to overseeing hands-on science projects for 35 Junior Girl Scouts. She participates in the Undergraduate Chemistry Council and has donated countless on-line hours to Habitat for Humanity as its webmaster. Next year, Awista will study "Women in Science" as a Take 5 Scholar.

2001 Fannie Bigelow Scholarship:
Elizabeth Fox, '03
Elizabeth Fox, '03, is 2001 recipient of the Fannie Bigelow Scholarship. She studies Music Education at the Eastman School of Music. In her personal essay, Elizabeth writes that through her work with diverse educational, social, musical and activist groups, she has become "a woman with strong convictions who sincerely believes in the inherent worth of extra-curricular activities and the importance of personal beliefs." Those convictions grew as Elizabeth became a spokesperson for gay and lesbian issues. She has participated in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Friends Association and the Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley. This year, working to bridge the University's Eastman and River campuses, she became Director of Safe Zone, a campus organization that advocates respectful and safe communication about gay and lesbian issues. In the spirit of Fannie Bigelow, Elizabeth has shown she can "express fearlessly, with conviction and sound judgment, her opinions on vital topics."

2001 Jane R. Plitt Scholarship:
Candace Curran, '03
Candace M. Curran, '03, is this year's Jane R. Plitt Scholarship winner. A political science major, Candace writes, "I stand up for what is right, especially when it concerns unfairness to women." Her passion for justice began even before she came to Rochester. In a philosophy class, a teacher handed out a list of the world's fifty greatest thinkers - with not one woman on it. While her classmates snickered, Candace asked, "Don't women think?" She compiled a list of nineteen women philosophers and presented it in class. "No one was laughing anymore," Candace notes. At the University of Rochester, Candace has continued to lead, serving as a Parish council member, a member of "Women in the Know", and president of the College Democrats. Her nominator says, "She has a sense of self which proclaims that all things are possible... if you put your mind to it."

Special Thanks to those who made the event possible:
The greater Rochester and University communities joined in welcoming the next hundred years of women's education and achievements at the University.

The Legacy Dinner enjoyed the support of:
Wegmans Food Market, the Office of the Vice President and University Dean of Students at UR, the Office of Associate Vice President and River Campus Dean of Students at UR, the University of Rochester Medical Center and Strong Health, American Association of University Women Greater Rochester Branch, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at UR, the UR Panhellenic Association, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, the UR Student Activities Office, UR Programs for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), the School of Engineering and Applied Science at UR, the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at UR, the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at UR, and Virginia Goyer.

Legacy Dinner Committee:
Anne-Marie Algier, Jody Asbury, Nora Bredes, Mary-Beth Cooper, Zoe Horowicz, Mary Kelley, Connie Klein, Maxine Simon, Jennifer Steward, Annette Weld

Women's Scholarship Committee: Anne-Marie Algier, Nora Bredes, Lisa Cartwright, Brian Cool, Mary-Beth Cooper, Thomas Crews, Rita D'Aoust, Barbara Hartwig, Linda Muise, Burton Nadler, Jane Plitt, Ken Rockensies, Daniel Watts, Annette Weld