News

By Jamuna Gautam

Lee University will mark International Women’s Day (IWD) with a series of events during the week of March 3-5. Activities will include lectures, chapel services, and a poster competition.

According to music professor and event coordinator Dr. ChoEun Lee, the university’s International Women’s Week is founded on Genesis 1:27-28, “God created man and woman in his own image; together both man and woman are blessed.”

On Tuesday, March 3, a special liturgical service will take place in the Lee Chapel at 10:40 a.m., led by LuAnn Holden, former music professor at Lee. Holden’s message will focus on “Calling” and how we can cultivate and use our individual abilities, skills, and talents for God’s purposes. The service will be officiated by Dr. Lisa Long, associate professor of Christian formation, and Ladies of Lee, directed by music professor Dr. Randy Sheeks, will provide special music.

The Learn, Engage, and Achieve Program (LEAP) office will host “Latte in the Library” with Dr. Carolyn Dirksen on March 3 at 7 p.m. in the Squires Library. Dirksen will speak on “Blazing the Trail for Women in Leadership.”

An interdisciplinary poster presentation session will take place in the Great Room of the Science and Math Complex from 1-3:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Students from diverse majors including political science, anthropology, humanities, history, and journalism will present on a variety of topics pertaining to women’s issues and equality. Cash prizes will be awarded on Thursday, March 19, at 4 p.m. in Squires Library.

“This session provides students with the opportunity to become an integral part of the week’s discussions,” said Julie Burchfield, assistant professor and librarian for distance learning. “It helps to bring awareness to our community while providing students with valuable educational experience garnered from the research and presentation process.”

Patricia Nichols will speak in chapel on Thursday, March 5, at 10:40 a.m. in the Conn Center. Nichols currently serves as brigade chaplain for the 75th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Nichols will share personal testimony of her journey of becoming an active duty chaplain as a woman.

“I am very thrilled to celebrate the 13th Annual International Women’s Week on our campus,” said Lee. “What started as a one-day event has now grown into a week of honoring what God says about women and inspiring the Lee and Cleveland community.”

All events are free, non-ticketed, and open to the public.

For more information about Lee’s International Women’s Week events, contact Dr. Lee at [email protected].