In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, Lee University’s Cultural Diversity Committee will host a series of events from March 2–6, celebrating International Women’s Week (IWW). Activities will include special panel discussions, chapel services, and a poster competition. 
 
The purpose of IWW is to inspire and empower women by highlighting their achievements, addressing their challenges, and fostering a supportive and well-informed community.
 
“I am so grateful to be a part of a campus community that values the gift of diversity,” said Julie Burchfield, chair of the IWW subcommittee and a faculty librarian at Lee. “International Women’s Week is an opportunity to celebrate all of God’s creation, both male and female, and to celebrate the beauty of collaboration, camaraderie, and solidarity as we pause to consider how each of us is created in the image of God.”
 
The IWW subcommittee, which includes Lee faculty Burchfield, Dawn Bixler, Vanessa Muen Wei, Ashley Mulligan, Holly Perleoni, Joanna Pepple, and Mary Mathias-Dickerson, is dedicated to organizing International Women’s Week. This initiative is founded on Genesis 1:27-28, which states that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them…” (NIV). 
 
The week will begin with a “Women in Business Panel Luncheon” for students on Monday, March 2, sponsored by the Cultural Diversity Committee, the Office of Racial and Ethnic Relations, the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Lee University School of Business.
 
That evening, “A Mind of Her Own: An Interdisciplinary Women Scholars Panel” will be held at 7 p.m. in the Edna Minor Conn Lecture Hall located in the Vest Building. Speakers include Glenna Lashley, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Stephanie Pope, assistant professor of elementary education; Dr. Marcie Williams, assistant professor of engineering; Anna Marie Brendel, assistant professor of theatre; and Jaimme Preston, assistant professor of business administration.
 
“By offering professors a platform to share about a woman in their field who did important, inspirational, or boundary-breaking work, the goal of the panel is for students to leave with a deeper understanding of the important role women intellectuals have in a variety of academic and social spaces,” said Mulligan, assistant professor of English. 
 
On Tuesday, March 3, in the Lee University Art Gallery at Squires Library, there will be an artist talk and reception featuring Mikala Alewine and Josephine Cora Prins from 9:15–10:30 a.m. The art exhibition, which will run through March 23, will feature Alewine’s pottery alongside Prins’s landscape scenes.
 
The Tuesday morning chapel service, which will take place at 10:45 in the Lee Cornerstone Chapel, will feature Dr. Lenena Brezna, professor of voice. Ladies of Lee, directed by Dr. Cameron Weatherford, and organist Mary Beth Wickes will provide special music during the service, and Dr. Lisa Stephenson, professor of systematic theology, will officiate.  
 
Tuesday evening will conclude with a “Latte in the Library” event for Lee students, staff, and faculty featuring Tonya Cook, wife of Lee President Dr. Phil Cook. The talk is sponsored by the Learn Engage Achieve Program (LEAP).
 
Wednesday morning, March 4, begins with “Unwavering: Women and the Call of God Panel Discussion” in the School of Theology & Ministry (STM) Reading Room from 11:15 a.m.–12:05 p.m. During the discussion, the panelists will share their ministerial journeys—the highs, the lows, and the challenges along the way. Speakers include Lee alumnae Casey Cole, former Lee lecturer in theology and Church of God speaker, and Fernanda Ramirez, Church of God World Missions Women’s Ministries assistant coordinator. The panel will be presented by director and professor of the Lee intercultural studies program Dr. Julie Martinez and the STM.
 
“‘Unwavering: Women and the Call of God’ is an honest conversation with women who have answered God’s call to ministry and remained faithful through resistance, doubt, and sacrifice,” said Martinez. “Through their stories, you will see what obedience looks like in real life—and hopefully leave inspired to pursue your own calling.”
 
Wednesday afternoon features a Student Poster Session which will be held from 1:25–3:20 p.m. in the SMC Medlin Great Room, showcasing interdisciplinary student research on topics related to women.  
 
The morning of Thursday, March 5, features the IWW Conn Center Chapel Service, from 10:45–11:30 a.m., featuring Lena Barber-Howard, a licensed professional counselor who is certified in grief therapy. Barber-Howard formerly worked at the Lee Counseling Center and was a psychology professor at the university.
 
Thursday’s events will continue in the Squires Recital Hall from 4:15–5:05 p.m. with an IWW Performance Seminar featuring Lee School of Music students. Composers whose works will be highlighted include Rebecca Clarke, Libby Larsen, Catherine McMichael, Marguerite Monnot, Edith Piaf, and Clara Schumann.
 
The week will conclude on Thursday evening with a guest recital in Squires Recital Hall at 7:30, welcoming pianist Jeong Yun Yang. The performance features a repertoire by women composers from the late 19th century through the 21st century.
 
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free, non-ticketed, and open to the public.
 
For more information about Lee’s IWW events, please contact Julie Burchfield at [email protected].