On Nov. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m., Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies hosted the 23rd annual Notable Women of ETSU Award event located in the D.P. Culp Student Center, in the East Tennessee Room. The award recipients for the 2024 ceremony were Dr. Dottie Green from the Department of Social Work and Melissa Shafer from the Department of Theatre and Dance. Through this yearly celebration, WGSS gives a stage to women in the ETSU community across campus to highlight their achievements, efforts and contributions to the university.
Dr. Stacey Williams is the director of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. At the event, she led the night to provide insight into ideas, research and projects created by women faculty and commemorate the impact of women on ETSU as a community. Awardees Green and Shafer were the 23rd annual winners selected since the ceremony’s inception in 2002.
“We get to hear about their journeys to getting to this point,” said Williams. “And along the way, the impact that they’ve made on women and others as well as on campus.”
An evening for recognition and support, the ceremony serves as a way for women to connect, learn and communicate through lessons and advice. As a past attendee, Executive Aide for WGSS Devorah Daught oversaw and helped organize the event along with Graduate Assistant Mattie Raza.
“It highlights the interdisciplinary nature of what we study here and how it is integral in so many places,” Daught said on the ceremony.
Along with recognizing the awardees, the ceremony this year recognized a special faculty member, Dr. Jamie Brown, who has served in WGSS for 26 years. Brown was gifted a special plaque from the department and the hosts shared words over her achievements, time and effort with the university, seeing that she will be retiring at the end of the semester.
Continuing the recognition of women’s impact on their studies, the department holds a “Women and Gender Studies on Wednesdays” series lecture on the first Wednesday of every month to raise awareness on scholarship, research and community work. The series was first implemented in 2012 as “Women on Wednesdays,” and it continues to engage and inspire women today.
To learn more about WGSS and how to get involved, visit https://www.etsu.edu/cas/women-gender-sexuality/default.php. To learn more about the Notable Women of ETSU Award and its history, visit https://www.etsu.edu/cas/women-gender-sexuality/notable.php.
