In honor of International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, Lee University’s Cultural Diversity Committee will host a series of events from March 3-6, 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.  

“IWW provides opportunities for the Lee University and Cleveland communities to celebrate the accomplishments of women and to raise awareness concerning the obstacles that women still face, both locally and globally,” said Julie Burchfield, chair of the IWW subcommittee and a faculty librarian at Lee.  

The IWW subcommittee, which includes Dawn Bixler, Mary Mathias-Dickerson, and Drs. Muen Vanessa Wei, Ashley Mulligan, and Holly Perleoni, 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 kick off on Monday, March 3, with the “Women in Business Panel Luncheon,” sponsored in part by the Tennessee Society of CPAs and the Lee University School of Business. The event will take place from 12:20-1:10 p.m. in the School of Business Lobby. The panel will feature four women from a variety of professional stages and backgrounds. Students should register to attend at https://leeuniversity.libwizard.com/f/business.  

Later 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.  Speakers include Dr. Sherry Kasper, professor of biology; Dr. Susan Ashcraft, professor of psychology and human development; Dr. Amy Moody, chairperson for the Bachelor of Science in nursing program and lecturer in nursing; and Jodie Augustine, lecturer in Greek and Latin.  

“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 4, in the Lee University Art Gallery at Squires Library, there will be an artist talk and reception with international contemporary artist Ronit Joy Holtz from 9:15-10:30 a.m. The art exhibition, titled “Jars in Heaven,” will bridge personal narrative, rich cultural history, and faith in Christ and will run through March 18. 

The Tuesday morning chapel service, which will take place at 10:45 in the Lee Chapel, will feature Kasper, speaking on “Abundant Provision through Service:  Trusting God in Every Step.”  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 afternoon, the “Nevertheless, We Obey Panel,” presented by assistant professor of intercultural studies Dr. Julie Martinez and the School of Theology & Ministry (STM), will take place from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the STM Reading Room. The panelists will share their ministerial journeys—the highs, the lows, and the challenges along the way. Panelists include Antoinette Miles, motivational speaker; Ginger Robinson associate pastor of Westmore Church of God; and Dr. Miriam Figueroa, assistant professor of pastoral ministries at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. 

Tuesday will conclude with a “Latte in the Library” event at 7 p.m. in Squires Library. “Latte in the Library” is sponsored by the Learn Engage Achieve Program (LEAP) and Squires Library and will feature Dr. Samantha Logan Spinks, assistant professor of nursing.  

“Latte nights give students a chance to connect with professors outside the classroom, to hear their professors’ stories, and to receive wisdom and advice on navigating college, life, and career,” said Bixler, public services coordinator for Squires and lecturer. 

On Wednesday, March 5, a Student Poster Session will be held from 12:20-3:35 p.m. in the SMC Great Room, showcasing student research on topics related to women.   

The week will conclude on Thursday, March 6, with the IWW Conn Center Chapel Service, featuring author Becky Burdashaw, a graduate of Lee University and Fuller Theological Seminary. She has worked with sexually exploited persons for nearly 20 years, serving both juvenile and adult populations. She has worked domestically in Chicago, Los Angeles, North Georgia, and the Tennessee Valley, and internationally in India, Kenya, and throughout Central and South America. She is the author of “Exploitation to Restoration: a Biblical Response to the Epidemic of Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking.” Currently, she serves in victim outreach for Her Song, a ministry of the Tim Tebow Foundation.

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

For more information about Lee’s IWW events please visit https://rb.gy/i4uc5j or contact Julie Burchfield at [email protected].